


Ivy Tangled Hearts

by storyteller94



Category: Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Cartoon 2018), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types
Genre: Friends to Lovers, Just Like My Other Fic, Leading to Online.... something, Main OC is an ethnobotanist, Multi, Online Friendship, Probably going to add in a couple more relationships, Slow Burn, a lot of dancing around each other the further in we get, and a witch, some pre-established relationship between characters, some soft angst, the brothers being supportive, this is like 9 to 10 years after current canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-28
Updated: 2020-07-11
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:14:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 24,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24427831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/storyteller94/pseuds/storyteller94
Summary: After months of online conversations with the user botanybae_420, Donatello finds their friendship moving forward in ways he didn't think possible after an incident in which his online friend confesses they want to meet. Does he risk it for the possibility of something more or play it safe and not risk them freaking out over the fact that he's a mutant.Seren Llewllyn had a hard time making friends after moving to America 3 years ago, but when they meet bootyshaker9000 in an online forum for scifi fans, it seems easy to fall into friendship with him. After the death of their father, they confess to him that they want to meet, which pushes the two of them to start moving from online interactions to more personal interactions.Ryder just wants his best friend and roommate stop sabotaging their attempts at interpersonal relationships and let themselves have fun. The turtles just want their brother to take the leap of faith and talk to this individual who seems to mean something to him.
Relationships: Casey Jones/Raphael (TMNT), Donatello (TMNT)/Original Character(s)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 26





	1. Chapter 1

The soft patter of rain against the windows in Seren’s room were calming to the young botanist, who was currently settled on the papasan chair and messaging their roommate back in New York. Ryder had been really understanding about the whole situation and was currently looking after not only their plants but also the rambunctious kitten they’d adopted. Peaches was still adjusting to the new home she’d come into and Seren hated having to leave so suddenly, even if they would be back in just a week. While they were typing a response back to him, another of their messaging apps went off. 

[bootyshaker9000]: Finally free over here, how’s the surprise trip going?

[botanybae_420]: About as well as I expected. Mum lost it when I got here, said I look like I haven’t eaten properly since the last time she saw me.

[botanybae_420]: Mari and Enyd still have schoolwork so I haven’t seen them much since we got to the house.

[bootyshaker9000]: You did say she would overreact, although from our conversations I happen to know you probably eat more than someone your size should be able to.

Seren chuckled, ever since they had met bootyshaker9000 on the scifi fan forum this had become the ritual. They went over how their days were and had a back and forth about the others' bad habits, sometimes they even talked about the latest movie or books they had read. They had also been known to just sit and listen to the other talk about current projects or whatever in their respective fields of knowledge had sparked passion for them recently. It was a nice reprieve to have someone to talk to like this, someone outside of their usual life and routine, who had a unique perspective. 

[botanybae_420]: Well at least I have a normal sleep schedule and I get at least six hours when I do sleep.

[bootyshaker9000]: Touche, although I got 5 last night so that’s progress.

[bootyshaker9000]: But enough witty back and forth, how are you actually doing?

[botanybae_420]: I don’t know. I’ve had since the call last week to try and wrap my head around it.

[botanybae_420]: It still feels unreal, like it’s a dream that I’ll wake up from. 

[botanybae_420]: Kinda wish it was.

[bootyshaker9000]: I don’t blame you for feeling like that.

[bootyshaker9000]: You know if you need to talk about it I’m here. Just you know, even if all I can do is distract you.

[botanybae_420]: I appreciate it. Really. 

[botanybae_420]: For now I should actually try to sleep. It’s midnight and I’ve been up since eight.

[bootyshaker9000]: Why weren’t you asleep yet to begin with? 

[bootyshaker9000]: Nevermind, jet lag is a thing.

[bootyshaker9000]: Get some sleep, you’re going to need it.

[botanybae_420]: Thanks, I’ll try. Talk to you later.

Seren hummed softly as they closed the laptop, looking out the window and watching the raindrops hit the glass and streak down. The whole reason they were here on this unfortunate trip as bootyshaker had called it, was that their father had just passed away. He had always been a sickly man, growing up with immunodeficiencies which he had never really grown out of. They remembered one time when the flu had gone around the house and he had been out of commission for a full month and it still took a little longer than that for him to really start feeling better. The whole family had always known it would be possible for him to pass before everyone else, but they all prayed it would never happen. They would be getting together to do the last little bits of planning before the funeral and the wake later on in the week. Family meetings went well enough, outside of someone deciding that one of the younger family members looked like they were eating enough.

Seren placed the laptop on the small side table, stretching as they stood up to start getting ready for bed. Even if they didn’t feel tired, at least laying down to get rest would be better than not and hopefully at some point they would fall asleep. They could worry about everything else when they woke up in the morning.

******************************

Donatello frowned as he looked at the little grey offline circle next to botanybae’s name, he hated that he really couldn’t do more. He hadn’t had to deal with actually losing someone he was close to but the amount of times he and his brothers had gotten close gave him at least some understanding of how they must be feeling. He also couldn’t help but feel bad, knowing that their father had been the one who encouraged their love of plants, which ultimately led to them becoming a botanist. 

“Hey Donald, you done checking in with your totally not girlfriend?” Mikey asked from the living room, “The movie marathon starts in like fifteen minutes.”

He rolled, his eyes but grinned, “Yeah, yeah. I’ll be there in a second Mikey.”

He didn’t try to correct his brothers anymore about the fact that botanybae wasn't his girlfriend, hell he didn’t even know their actual name. Since neither they or he knew if there was ever going to be the chance to meet face to face both of them had decided it was best not to trade names, less likely to be disappointed that way. Having a name always made it feel more real than just some online friendship that was just a handful of months old. It didn’t help that the possibility of a face to face meeting might not go over well considering the fact that he was a mutant turtle and he had to assume that they were a completely normal human.

As the purple clad turtle made his way into the living room to lay on the couch with his brothers to watch the new Jupiter Jim Movie, followed of course by old favorites, he thought a lot about how meeting botanybae in that scifi forum had changed a lot of things for him. It had been a thread about one of the recent mecha movies that had come out and they had quite the comeback to some jackass who had tried to call them a fake geek. Donnie had reached out to them afterwards, mostly to talk about the movie but then had found out that both of them had shared quite a few similar interests. The two talked video games, comics, and movies which had led to botanybae bringing up work, as well as their interest in science in general. From there messages had become more common, a part of his routine even, just the two of them catching up on the day and talking about research.

It was an unconventional friendship, but weren’t most things in his life a little unconventional. April and Casey were their friends and were human, but the two women were unique exceptions to the rules. While most New Yorkers weren’t going to probably try and make a fuss over seeing mutants, New York was a weird place, it was safer to keep themselves in the dark as much as possible. The Hidden City was a safe enough place to walk around, but the yokai and mystically gifted humans weren’t going to look at them like they were the weirdest thing to have crossed their path. If all he ever got was botanybae’s attention online he could be happy with that, more happy than the possible reality that they would freak out and never talk to him again if they knew the truth. Not to mention he’d never risk putting his family at risk over something like this, so not having the temptation to want to meet you more than he already did made it easier.

Not that he’d told anyone anything about botanybae other than they were an internet friend and that they talked science with him. He kept most of what was talked about private because… well, because he shared nearly everything else with his brothers. It was very nice to have something that was his, a friendship he didn’t have to share with anyone. It was nice to have someone with similar interests and a similar mind to bounce ideas back and forth with. This had led to his brothers deciding that this ‘online friend’ was clearly a girlfriend or boyfriend and he had tried to correct them but knew better than to try that. Everyone else could think what they want but they didn’t know the truth, that the botanist had become a good friend in a short amount of time and that Donnie just wished their relationship wouldn’t end up star crossed at some point.

For now though, he came back to the movie marathon and the sound of his brothers arguing over popcorn and Jupiter Jim facts. He was here now and there wasn’t anything else he could do for botanybae until they told him what they needed. Donatello just hoped they would talk to him when it came down to it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seren deals with the reality of their father's death and share some of their memories with their charming online friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize right now for any issues you might see with the welsh i'm using here or how I'm writing the slight accents. I'm using videos of people talking and what research I can find on how to write for it to make do. If anyone has advice on how to make adjustments I'm open to hearing it!

“Seren, are ya sure you’re gettin’ enough sleep love?” Ariana asked, her eldest child, noting the slight bags under their eyes, “Ya look like you’re right knackered this mornin.”

“‘M fine Mum, jus’ a little jet lagged is all,” they replied, making a second cup of coffee, “Besides I thought I was allowed to look like a mess this week.”

The older woman snorted, “I said no one would blame ya fer lookin a right mess, not tha’ it was allowed. Every bit as cheeky as ya ever were I see.”

Seren only winked and gave their mother a smirk before settling back at the breakfast bar with their freshly refilled mug. They took another mini muffin from the tray, nibbling on the pastry as they watched Ariana work her magic in the kitchen. A full breakfast before the long day ahead of them, not to mention their mother had always been of the mind that one couldn’t be happy unless properly fed. Which wasn’t necessarily wrong, especially between Seren and their sisters, who were all awful to deal with if they were even a little hangry. 

“So, how have things been here. I know you said Mari and Anyd have been looking into colleges? Anywhere they have their hearts set on yet?” Seren asked, “Or are they still undecided on what they want to major in?”

Ariana laughed, “Enyd knows she wan’s ta go for a fashion degree, but findin a place with a good program has been difficult. Mari still isn’ completely set on anythin specific, but I know she’s leaning more towards culinary school. Those two are the opposite of how ya were when ya got ready to go to college.”

That sounded about right, their sisters were talented and bright but both hadn’t exactly thought too much about what came after graduating secondary school. Whatever they decided to do they would both be great at, or they’d find something else to do pretty quickly. 

“Better than not knowing at all I suppose,” they chuckled, “Enyd already makes a lot of her own clothes, fashion design would be a good way to go. I also bet ten pounds that Mari changes what she wants to major in at least two more times before she graduates.”

Speaking of both of the teens came down the stairs and into the kitchen, small tired waves to their older sibling and mother as they settled in at the table. Mari was a brunette, like their mother, with big grey-green eyes and Enyd was a red-head like Seren and their father had been, with the same grey-green eyes as her twin. Seren themself had their father’s eyes as well as his hair, a soft cerulean that stood out against the red hair and fair, freckled skin. Ariana was a brunette, hair a warm honeyed brown although some of her grey hairs were becoming more noticeable, with bright emerald eyes and sun kissed skin. All three children had unfortunately gotten their father’s complexion, which meant they couldn’t tan like their mother and her siblings and they looked like lobsters if they stayed out in the sun too long.

Seren grinned, “Well speak of the devils and they will appear. You two want coffee or juice?”

“Juice please, caffeine will kill me later.” Mari grumbled, followed by a noise from her twin that meant she also wanted juice. Their mother laughed, placing the last of the breakfast foods onto the table, “Ya two look worse than yer sibling and tha’s sayin somethin.”

The two girls grumbled again, but left it at that, clearly not having the energy to have that back and forth with their mother. Their older sibling busied themself with getting the twins some orange juice, placing the glasses in front of their sisters. 

“Careful Mum, I wouldn’ poke the bears too much until they’ve eaten and can function properly.” Seren joked, reaching across the table to start putting their breakfast together, “Besides, we’re allowed to look a mess.”

“You’re incorrigible, cariad bach.” Ariana replied, helping the still half asleep twins fill their plates, “Besides these two aren’ bears, more like a couple of pups.”

And just like that the rest of breakfast was filled with lighthearted banter and laughter, allowing the four of them a moment away from the sorrow surrounding their reunion. 

************************

The large building that had housed the coven Seren’s family belonged to had always been a place of comfort, although standing in it now and speaking with the High Priestess about their father’s funeral, it was bittersweet to be here again. They could hear their mother going over the rituals they would do and the things they would need to get together, but the botanist was taking the moment to run their hands along the familiar walls. The main hall had been the most frequently used room for all gatherings, there were a lot of memories here, mostly good and a few awkward. A good portion of their childhood and teenage years had been spent in this building, among their brothers and sisters of the coven. 

Their father had spent a lot of time in this room as well, undergoing healing rituals and having blessings placed upon him. In a few days he would be in this room, but this time it would be for them to send his spirit onto the next world with his family and his coven around him. Seren was so lost in thought they hadn’t felt the High Priestess walk up behind them and so when she placed a hand on their shoulder they jumped just slightly. 

“I can practically see the sorrow and joy rollin off ya enaid,” the older woman started, “Yer mum was righ’, ya haven’ had a good cry yet have ya?”

“No, I guess I haven’t really let myself grieve just yet hen ddwylo,” Seren replied shakily, “I keep hoping someone will tell me this has all been a terrible dream. That my father didn’t die before my twenty seventh birthday.” 

A sad look came across the woman’s face and she pulled the young witch into hug, “Oh calon bach, we all wish we could see yer pa one more time. He was a good man, a loyal husband and a lovin father. We see it in ya and yer sisters, he left a lot of himself behind with the three of ya. And as long as the three of ya live, he lives on through ya and he will be with ya.”

Maybe it was the way she said it, maybe it was the idea that he was still there with them in a way but finally the dam broke. Tears started to fall down their cheeks and they wrapped their arms around her, shaking as they cried into her shoulder. Ariana and the twins watched from afar, knowing Seren needed this, that they would have held onto the emotions until they drowned in it otherwise. The oldest Llewellyn child had always been like that, trying not to burden anyone else, which led to a lot of bottled up emotions. They’d gotten better over the years of course but they always felt so strongly, so passionately that sometimes they had to compartmentalize emotionally and wait to deal with certain things until they felt ready.

This attunement with their emotions had made them a great witch and an excellent student in general, it also meant they cared a lot for the people around them. Which had led to more heartbreak and upset than anyone in the family could count, including lost friendships and unhappy relationships. Ariana had been worried when there hadn’t been any tears that first day Seren had gotten into England, so this moment here and now helped ease some of her worries.

As the High Priestess pulled away, Seren wiped their eyes and took a deep breath, smiling up at the woman.

“Thank you, hen ddwylo. I think… I think I was just worried his death meant he was gone forever.” They whispered, “I know I won’t see him again, but it’s like you said, he’s with us always. He’s a part of us and that’s not something that goes away with his death.”

“Ya know we are here for ya always, even if tha’ means through a phone call.” she replied easily, “Should ya need us we will make time to sit and talk.”

They nodded in acknowledgement as the older woman turned to head off to her office to finalize the preparations for the funeral. Seren looked to their mother and sisters who were already moving in to wrap them up in a hug. 

“She’s righ’ my little Wren, ya always have people who will listen to yer grief.” their mother said, pressing a kiss to their forehead, “All ya have ta do is ask and we’ll be there for ya.”

“I know mum, I jus’ get stuck in my head and worry you have too much on your own plate.” they replied softly, “I’ll do better, maybe if I call more often you’ll stop harassing me about my eating habits.”

Laughter erupted from all four of them, their mother ruffling their hair and their sisters hooking arms with them. Maybe things were sad and difficult now, but they wouldn’t stay that way. Not when they had so many wonderful people in their life.

******************

[botanybae_420]: Well I finally cried. So I think that’s progress forward.

[botanybae_420]: The funeral is all set to go, I think we just need to go shopping for the wake now.

[bootyshaker9000]: I think you’re right. Good that you’re finally processing. 

[bootyshaker9000]: Take a shot of scotch for me for your dad. You know, since I can’t be there to do it myself. Still don’t know how you can drink that stuff by the way. 

[botanybae_420]: Maybe you just don’t have as refined of a palette as you talk about having. Or my tastebuds are just numb to it at this point.

[bootyshaker9000]: Still capable of making fun of me I see, solid proof you’re doing okay.

[bootyshaker9000]: I very clearly have the better taste between us. You eat abnormally greasy fast food at 2 am without feeling bad about it. You also dip pickles into ice cream. Your taste buds are obviously damaged. 

[botanybae_420]: I think you’re just jealous you can’t try fun food combinations without gagging. 

[botanybae_420]: But you’re right I am feeling better than before. 

[botanybae_420]: Would mind if I just talked about him? I don’t know what else I can do besides that right now. All I have left are memories and stories. I just…

[botanybae_420]: I want to share with them with someone I know who will appreciate them the way they deserve to be.

[bootyshaker9000]: I said I was here for you however I could be. Besides I’m honored you want to share more about him with me. You still don’t even know my name. 

[botanybae_420]: Names are technically just a label. I don’t need your name to know that you’re the kind of man who would have gotten along with my dad. You would have appreciated his unique sense of style and humor. He would have loved to have talked to you. 

The actual, audible breath Donatello took in that moment broke the silence of his room and he had to wonder how they could still make him feel like a person, when they had never seen him and they were currently thousands of miles away. Not to mention that they were telling him that they were the kind of person who would have gotten along with their dad, one of the most important people in their life. Just the little he knew already told him the man was well respected by his peers and loved by his family. 

[bootyshaker9000]: The talk away, I’m not going to sleep anytime soon. Not while you still need me. 

[botanybae_420]: Good, I have a lot of stories. You’ll love the one about how he got his finger stuck in a carnivorous plant. It didn’t hurt him you know, but it was funny to watch him walk around the house with the little pot strapped to his leg so he didn’t hurt it.

[bootyshaker9000]: How did he get his finger stuck in the first place? I have.... So many questions.

[botanybae_420]: He was running tests and he needed a sample of the mucilage from it, which is the substance it used to capture insects to eat. Except he didn’t realize how big it was and as he was reaching for the next sample paper, he accidentally bumped the side of its mouth. Which led to the plant ‘chomping’ down on his finger.

[botanybae_420]: It took him nearly 4 hours to figure out how to get it to open back up safely. Mum was so fussed over it, telling him he needed to pay more attention when he was down in his little laboratory. Me and my sisters thought it was hilarious.

[bootyshaker9000]: Amazing. Really. Your father was a brilliant botanist and yet.

[bootyshaker9000]: As a fellow scientist who suffered similarly though, I totally get it. Have to try not to get too wrapped up in our projects lest they be the death of us. 

[botanybae_420]: See, I knew you’d appreciate this. More than anyone else outside of our family.

Donnie smiled, replying with some witty and funny one liner. Something he hoped would make them smile, not that he’d ever know of course but a turtle could dream. The next few hours went on just like this, botanybae telling stories about their father’s mishaps and about different memories they had with him. Their messages started to slow down and get shorter until they finally gave in and admitted they were too tired to continue. 

[bootyshaker9000]: Go to sleep, please. And you know, actually get some sleep.

[bootyshaker9000]: I would hate for you to lose the one thing you have over me. 

[botanybae_420]: You just had to get one more jab in didn’t you?

[botanybae_420]: Goodnight, you complete nerd. Maybe you should actually get some sleep yourself. You probably need it too.

They weren’t wrong, he hadn’t slept very well after their last conversation, between being wrapped up in a new project and a bit of worry over how they were doing. As he saw their little dot go grey to show they were in fact offline now, he pushed away from his computer and stretched. He couldn’t wait until they were in the same timezone again, but until then he’d take a few later than normal nights.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> enaid - friend/dear one  
> hen ddwylo - old hands, a term of endearment for older folks  
> calon bach - little heart
> 
> Also I know scotch isn't typically taken as a shot but I drink it like that and I feel like Seren does too. So ya know, go with it.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The day of the funeral and the wake have come and Seren makes poor choices while drunk.

The last few days passed by in a blur for Seren, family members in and out as everything got prepared for both the funeral and the wake. It was busy and nice, although they did fit in a few more quick messages to bootyshaker. When their mother had realized they were talking to someone over the phone it had been a non stop game of twenty questions. And a lot of explaining that no he wasn’t their boyfriend, they’d never even met him and he was just a very good friend they’d met online. She’d given them a look that told them she didn’t believe that for a second, so they were sure there would be more questions about that at a later date. Wonderful.

Today was the day, they still weren’t ready but between talking with their family and sharing some more with bootyshaker they felt a lot better about what they were going to deal with today. Seren had picked out a black sleeveless turtleneck shirt and a pair of black harem pants, with bright yellow flats. Their father had always worn garishly bright yellow shoes, said yellow was his lucky color and that the plants liked it because it looked like the sun. Mari, Edyn and their mum had all done the same, a little bit of an homage to the man they had lost. Unruly red hair was pulled back into a messy bun and tucked away from their face with sunflowers and daisies, with just enough makeup they didn’t look like the tired mess they knew they were.

Once they were dressed and ready they headed downstairs, where their mother was already leaning against the counter with what smelled like honey and lavender tea. She looked up as they came in and smiled softly, although it didn’t quite cut through the sadness in her eyes. Seren walked over to the cabinet and pulled out their own mug to make tea in. 

“You know mum you’re goin to have to cry at some point too.” they stated, “You’ve let all of us cry on you, so you know, when you’re ready you can cry on us. You’re allowed to look like a mess too.”

Ariana looked over at her child, “I thought I was the mother here. When did you get so good at motherhenning, don’t tell me you picked it up from the high priestess.”

Seren laughed, “Goddess no, I wish I could give off that kind of comfort but I’m afraid all I have is slightly motherly wisdom, which I learned from you.”

A comfortable silence replaced the melancholy as they finished making their cup of tea and moved to stand next to their mother. She leaned in just enough for their arms to brush as they stood there in the kitchen, just the smell of lavender and honey between them. That was how it stayed until the twins came downstairs, both still a little sleepy looking but put together for the day. Ariana and Seren had finished their tea by now which meant the twins could just come up and lean against both of them. The four of them stayed like that, just leaning against each other and enjoying each other's presence. It couldn’t stay that way of course, and their mother was the first to move away from the group. 

“Alright I know we’d all love to stay here like this but we’ve got to ge’ goin yeah,” She said, grabbing her car keys off the wall, “Le’s ge’ in the car, can’ put this off all day. Besides the sooner we can ge’ to the wake the sooner we’ll all feel better about today. Come along my blodyn tatws.”

This earned Ariana little giggles and snorts from her children, who followed along to the car slowly but they were moving at least. The four of them piled into the small car, Seren up front in the passenger seat and the twins in the back and once more the melancholy settled over them. Gone now was any of the comfort or lightheartedness of their little morning kitchen moment, the weight of the day settling back in. It was always odd to see her usually rambunctious family so quiet and sad, not something she hoped to see again anytime soon. Despite the sorrowful silence amongst them, the drive back down to the coven’s temple was quick and soon enough the four of them were out of the car and heading inside the building. 

Ariana stayed with the High Priestess at the door, greeting everyone who came for the funeral, while the twins and Seren found seats in the main building. She managed to keep her tears at bay during this, even getting herself to smile as she greeted everyone who came. Once they had everyone in, she went to her children sitting in the middle of them and the four of them of course sat up front and just to the right of the urn. The High Priestess gave a small speech on the rites of witches and the flow of energy through the universe before opening the floor to the family to come up and say something if they felt moved to.

A few of the cousins came up to say a few words and after Rhett’s mother spoke of her son she turned to Ariana, “Are you going to speak dear? We’d love to hear from you.” 

She nodded, “O-of course, I would… I would love…”

She could feel the tears threatening to spill over and then her children were there, pulling her into yet another hug that day. Seren pulled away and smiled at her, “I’ve got this mum, you don’t have to keep pushing yourself. Just let yourself be a mess for now. It’s okay.”

Her oldest child turned and took the podium, clearing their throat, “Terrible day for a funeral, sun’s just a tad too bright I think.”

There was a roll of laughter through the hall, the young witch continued on, “Although I can’t imagine my father would have wanted his funeral on a dreary day, considering he was the light in a lot of people’s lives. He was the kind of man who really left a bit of himself everywhere he went, a little bit of that light he was so well known for. I don’t have any terribly philosophical or profound words about death. All I can say with certainty here and now is that the most amazing man in my life may not be with us physically, but he left a little bit of himself with all of us. As long as we remember that then he’s never really gone.”

They stepped back from the podium, only offering the crowd a small wave before sitting back down next to their mother and joining their sisters in hugging and comforting her. Everyone waited to see if anyone else was going to speak but when no one did, the High Priestess closed out the service and gave blessings to everyone present. From there everyone was informed the wake would be later in the evening at their house. The four of them headed back so they could get changed and get everything set up, but Seren drove back, giving their mother further time to grieve and work through her emotions. Ariana really couldn’t help but be proud of her children, especially her oldest for taking the lead and helping her get through this awful day. She couldn't have been more blessed.

*******************

Seren had convinced their mother to bathe before the wake, insisting the warm water and alone time would be just what she needed to get herself back together for the night. Currently they were helping the twins get all the refreshments put out and making sure all the furniture looked appropriate for having company over. There were only a few things left to do when their message app notification sound went off, surprising them, mostly because bootyshaker was never awake at this time. They unlocked their phone and opened the app, smiling despite themself at the messages.

[bootyshaker9000]: Is now a bad time to tell you that I probably would have wanted to intern for your dad. Not because he was a man of science of course, mostly because he was as reckless as I am in the field. 

[bootyshaker9000]: I suppose I’ll just have to wait until the afterlife now. 

[botanybae_420]: You have phenomenal timing you know. 

[bootyshaker9000]: How many times do we have to go over the fact that everything about me is phenomenal? How long will it take you to remember it?

[bootyshaker9000]: I’m offended.

[botanybae_420]: You’re ridiculous, but it’s exactly what I needed before the wake starts. 

[bootyshaker9000]: Happy to help even when I didn’t mean to.

[botanybae_420]: I have to finish getting things ready, but I’ll message you when everything has calmed down and everyone goes home. 

[bootyshaker9000]: I will wait patiently. 

[bootyshaker9000]: As patiently as I can manage at least. No promises.

They could still the smile on their lips, chuckling softly at his shenanigans and thanking the goddess above for meeting him. Ariana finally emerged from her room, looking a lot more like herself than she had all week, which was another small blessing today. Since most everything was already good to go, their mother sent the three of them up to change and get more comfortable before the wake started proper. Seren changed into a loose, off the shoulder yellow sweater, but kept the harem pants from before. Mari and Edyn both changed into maxi dresses, Mari’s in deep blue and Edyn’s in rich green. Once they made it back downstairs there were already a few guests milling about, with plenty more on the way. 

As soon as a handful of their cousins were there, the first round of shots were poured and taken, followed by a second and third round. Seren chuckled, deciding three shots was probably where they should stop, but someone was going to try and talk them into another shot or two they were certain. For now they grabbed a few snacks and started mingling, chatting with guests and family members remembering fonder days. A couple hours in and of course it was one of their aunt’s, their father’s sister, who talked them into another couple of shots. After that point they opted for settling into one of the overstuffed chairs and letting themself just relax into the atmosphere.

After a few minutes they decided to check their messages, which Ryder had left them a few new pictures of Peaches finding the worst places to lay down. Their eyes passed over the app they used to talk to bootyshaker, a small giggle escaping them as they did. Should they wait to talk to him? Maybe, but that wasn’t any fun.

[botanybae_420]: so i am… a little frunk.

[botanybae_420]: drunk

Donnie practically ran across the lab to get to his computer, snorting at the messages waiting for him there. He supposed they hadn’t accounted for the drinking that might happen at the wake and now they were messaging him while they dealt with that.

[bootyshaker9000]: A little frunk, huh? That’s a new one to me. Is that something you welsh people do?

[botanybae_420]: dont be mean

[botanybae_420]: im greving

[bootyshaker9000]: Yes I think that is abundantly clear to me at this moment.

[bootyshaker9000]: I suppose it’s safe to say you definitely took that shot for me since I can’t be there.

[botanybae_420]: yea, i took that one

[botanybae_420]: and mine

[botanybae_420]: and like 3 more

[botanybae_420]: and i only ate like one mini sandwich

[bootyshaker9000]: I might have suggested at least two mini sandwiches if you were going to down five shots.

He couldn’t help but laugh, this had to be least in control they had ever been in one of their conversations. It was refreshing honestly.

[botanybae_420]: if ur going to be mean i wont talk to you anymore

[botanybae_420]: tonight

[botanybae_420]: ill still talk to you tomorrw

[botanybae_420]: maybe

[bootyshaker9000]: Somehow I doubt that.

[bootyshaker9000]: Any particular reason you messaged me while you were getting lit?

Seren thought about that for a second, it was a good question. Why had they decided messaging him was a good idea? Oh! Right, they had something they wanted to tell him. They needed to do it now before they lost the courage.

[botanybae_420]: i need to tell you smthn

[botanybae_420]: its import

[botanybae_420]: important

[bootyshaker9000]: Consider me on the edge of my seat then.

[botanybae_420]: its my name

[botanybae_420]: its seren

[botanybae_420]: which is welsh

[botanybae_420]: so good luck saying it right

[botanybae_420]: now u gotta tell me urs

Shit. That… was not at all what he thought they were going to say. They had been very careful about names and here they were, drunkenly telling him theirs and demanding his in return.

[bootyshaker9000]: Didn’t we agree to no names since we weren’t sure we could ever meet? You know to keep our expectations low.

[botanybae_420]: mayb i dont want low expections

[botanybae_420]: mayb i just want to know ur name

[botanybae_420]: bcuz i think ur cool

[botanybae_420]: and i think we should meet

[bootyshaker9000]: Listen I don’t think it’s a good idea. And you won’t either once you’re sober.

[botanybae_420]: its too late now

[botanybae_420]: sober me cant take it back

[botanybae_420]: so dont be mean

[botanybae_420]: ill be sad if u dont tell me :(

[bootyshaker9000]: Fine! But this is a bad idea.

[bootyshaker9000]: It’s Donatello. Happy?

[botanybae_420]: :3 y e s!

“Se…” He grumbled, and then took a deep breath, “Seren. Their name is Seren and even though I have no idea how to say it, it’s the best name I’ve ever heard.”

Donnie sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose and shaking his head because this was a terrible idea. He was going to regret this later on and he knew it. Too bad he’d already made it very real on his end by saying their name out loud.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Blodyn tatws - potato flowers; term of endearment/affection


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seren and Donnie deal with the aftermath of drunk messaging.

The raging headache Seren woke up with the next morning was a reminder of how easy it was for their family to talk them into way too many drinks. They ran a hand through their hair, grumbling as their fingers got caught in what had to be some of the worst bed head they’d ever had. Right, no way to deal with grief than to drink yourself stupid and vomit in the toilet before passing out. Sitting up, they reached for their phone and checked the time and groaned because they had slept until two in the afternoon. Goddess they had really let loose last night, hopefully they didn’t do anything stupid. 

They got up finally deciding to assess any possible damage done after they felt like a person again, which meant they needed a shower first. Once they were freshly bathed, hair wrapped up in a towel and teeth brushed, they headed downstairs. Mari was the first to greet them from her place at the kitchen table, “Good mornin sleepin beauty, you look better than las’ night.”

“Believable,” they mumbled, “One of you should have put my ass to bed when I decided I needed that tenth shot. Speaking of drinks I need water and probably a coffee.”

Since the coffee pot would take a moment to get started, Seren filled a glass with water and leaned against the counter. Now they could look through their phone, knowing full well they probably sent out messages they’d be embarrassed about later and probably needed to clean out their camera as well. A few messages to Ryder being sad about Peaches, which he had sent pictures in response to and they had sent an inordinate amount of crying emojis. Nothing surprising there and they swiped through their other conversations, nothing looked weird yet. They finally opened their messaging app for talking to bootyshaker and almost dropped the phone when they reread through last night's messages. 

“Mae hi wedi cachi arna i,” they swore under their breath, cheeks flushing pink, “I should’ve left my phone in my room.”

“Ya okay over there love? Ya look like someone jus’ told ya they could see yer knickers.” their mother asked, one eyebrow arched, “Reminds me of when ya realized ya had admitted yer first crush.”

“Mam please,” Seren groaned, “You aren’ totally off though. I may have… messaged my internet friend last night. You know, while I was completely sloshed and emotionally distressed.”

“Oh? Bu’ he’s jus’ yer friend isn’ he?” she mused, “Seems like maybe ya weren’ as hones’ with me about him as ya wanted me to think. Whatever it is ya said has ya pretty flustered.”

“We have rules… to keep our expectations of the friendship as minimal as possible. Which I know sounds weird.” they explained, “It’s not a guaranteed deal that we could ever meet up ya know. Not to mention he’s told me before that he has a condition that can put off people from wanting to be around him. He’s more comfortable not taking the risk.”

A deep sigh as they looked back down at the phone in their hand, “And I broke our very first rule. Which is that we don’t tell each other our names, to prevent making the friendship feel more real and grounded.”

“Do ya think it really makes a difference?” Ariana asked, “Or are ya jus’ scared that ya won’ know how to deal with the possibilities?” 

“I don’t know. I don’t…” Seren hesitated, knowing what it was their mother was getting at and that she wasn’t necessarily wrong. Over the last four months they had gotten to know Donatello, what a name honestly, and despite never knowing his name or what he looked like they were quite fond of him. The rules had kept them safe emotionally, because they were so fond of him and he was very worried about the idea of them meeting and it going poorly. Maybe worried was the wrong word, he almost seemed scared that they would take one look at him and run. Like he was some kind of monster.

“I hate when you’re right mum.” they said finally, “I’m not going to say I feel so strongly about it I have to make any decisions now, but I’d be lying if I said I didn't feel any affection for him. Even without breaking the rules.”

The older woman chuckled, pulling her child into a hug, “Oh love, ya don’ have to worry about that jus’ yet. Focus on bein friends and maybe you’ll work through some of those issues before it ge’s to be a problem. Yer father and I started out in a similar way, since he was so sickly.”

All three of her children looked at her in surprise, Mari spoke up first, “What? Mum ya never told us that? The two of ya were always so lovey dovey I wouldn’ have guessed that.”

“Every couple has issues to get through, yer father and I jus’ handled ours early on.” She remarked, “He was always worried that he’d leave whoever he was with way too early, convinced he’d die young and leave behind nothing. Said he was bad luck. That all he’d do is make me sad.”

Ariana shook her head and smiled, “But I told him he could shove it. That I knew what I wanted and I wanted to be with him. Even if all I got was friendship, he wasn’ goin to get rid of me. Eventually he got past being scared of leavin people behind and we started datin. And the res’ is history.”

“So I should just be a persistent presence and be there when I can? Like you did for Pa? Is that the lesson I’m taking away.” Seren asked, “And if things work out they do and if they don’t I pick myself up and move forward? Like we all are now?”

“Tha’s right cariad bach, he’s obviously a good friend to you despite the odd circumstances. So even if things don’t work out how ya might want or expect, ya still do yer bes’ to be a good friend.” she smiled, “Besides I know ya and I know if he’s not careful yer gonna trap him with yer charm and yer brains, jus’ like yer Pa did with me”

“That’s wonderfully sound wisdom mum and I’ll remember that.” they replied, “But I think I could use some time to myself for a bit, I’ll be back down for supper.”

“Of course love, ya do what ya need to.”

*****************************

[botanybae_420]: I don’t even know if you’re going to see these messages anytime soon.

[botanybae_420]: Drunk me wasn’t wrong. I cannot take back what happened. 

[botanybae_420]: But I don’t actually think it was a bad idea and I don’t regret that it happened. 

[botaynbae_420]: I am sorry for submitting you to the absolute slaughter of the english language I performed last night.

It was just three in the afternoon here, which would make it nine in the morning back in New York and Donatello was usually asleep until eleven. There was also no guarantee to ever hear from him before at least six in the evening by EDT so who knows if they’d even hear back from him tonight. So to help the time pass by and to distract themself for now they worked on their research project and did a little bit of reading. Despite all efforts to keep themself distracted the next few hours passed by slowly, further emphasized by every time they checked their phone. They joined their family downstairs for supper, the whole affair quiet but comfortable and then they spent a bit more time reading. 

Seren sighed, looking out the window of their room and across the dim lights of the town and trying to decide if they should send another message. Just as they went to pick up their phone the app notification went off, had he finally messaged them back?

[bootyshaker9000]: It was a pretty atrocious tragedy against grammar what you did last night.

[bootyshaker9000]: You owe me something nice for having to see that with my own eyes.

[bonatybae_420]: Define something ‘nice’, because after this little trip I’m short on funds until my next paycheck.

[botanybae_420]: All I have to offer are tea blends and the best way to make your own iced coffee.

[bootyshaker9000]: I might actually take you up on the iced coffee. 

[bootyshaker9000]: So, you feeling better after last night?

[botanybae_420]: Outside of minor embarrassment, I do actually feel better today than I have all week. 

[botanybae_420]: I’m also sorry for pushing you to share too.

[bootyshaker9000]: You don’t have to apologize. If I’m honest we probably couldn’t have avoided it forever. 

[bootyshaker9000]: And I’m glad you’re feeling better Seren.

[botanybae_420]: I’m glad you’re not mad at me. I don’t think I could handle not having our conversations in my day.

[botanybae_420]: As much as I would love to stay up and talk right now I am still pretty knackered, so I’m going to head to bed.

[botanybae_420]: Goodnight Donatello.

They set the phone down on the nightstand and moved from the chair to the bed, smiling as they settled themself in for the night. All the worry and tension they’d been holding in since earlier on in the day was gone now, allowing exhaustion to finally take over. Sleep came easily and for once this week, the botanist slept soundly and through the entire night.

************************

He reread the last few messages again, making sure he was seeing the words correctly and he was. If they kept this up he’d think they liked him more than he was willing to really try and think about right now. Donnie had barely been able to believe he’d meet someone who could stay on his level throughout a conversation, but to find someone who seemed to enjoy his company as much as he did theirs, even more of a surprise. When they had moved from sporadic messages to really personal talks about their lives and debates over science he had been pleasantly surprised to find that Seren considered him a friend. Which is why having rules to ensure they never learned what he actually was had been a big deal, it meant he didn’t have to confront his fears of possibly losing this friendship he had come to cherish.

“Don! Get out here and even the odds of this game of capture the flag!” Leo shouted from downstairs, jolting his twin from his thoughts. He chuckled, running his hand over his face and pulling himself up from his chair and headed out of the room.

“I thought you said you didn’t need my help Leon? That you were so good at this you could handle our brothers by yourself.” He asked, leaning against the partial railing and looking down where said game of capture the flag was taking place.

His twin did his usual overdramatic bit, falling to his knees and clasping his hands together, “I was a fool Donald, please forgive me and then help me crush Raph and Mikey.”

He brought a hand up to his chin, acting like he was thinking about it before nodding, “I suppose I can be merciful this once and help you out from under your own hubris.”

The excited whooping from all of his brothers was nice and he laughed as he jumped down to join them in the makeshift arena where the game was being played. Several rounds of capture the flag later and all four of them had worn themselves out pretty good, Mikey had just left to grab some water for everyone. Now that he didn’t have a distraction Donnie was back to thinking about his conversation with Seren earlier. Which is probably why he didn’t hear his younger brother calling his name.

“Donnie!” Mikey exclaimed, finally getting his brother’s attention, “Dude are you okay? Or did Raph, like, actually hit you too hard earlier?”

“Yeah man, you really zoned out there.” Raph added, “I wasn’t gonna say anything but I’m with Mikey on this. You’ve been distracted since yesterday.”

He looked over and while normally, they would have let him probably talk about it when he was ready, all three of them seemed concerned about him. Donatello took the water bottle from Mikey and sighed, “Yeah, I guess I’ve been… thinking about a lot lately.”

The other three turtles sat down closer and leaned in attentively, waiting for their brother to continue. It was rare to get the inventor to talk to them before things got to be too much for him, usually he just bottled stuff up and ignored it.

“You guys know about my… friend, the one you all seem dead set on referring to as my girlfriend.” He started, “Which would be inaccurate since they don’t identify as a woman, but I digress. They’re out of town dealing with a family issue and the other night they were a little drunk, deciding that was a great time to message me.”

“Always a bad idea to talk to someone when you’re emotionally compromised and under the influence.” Leo joked, “No problems or awkward situations could possibly arise from that.”

“Thank you, Leonardo.” Donnie said, rolling his eyes, “Anyways, they started messaging me and we talked a bit before they decided to drop on me that they want to tell me their name and break our number one rule. A rule in place to keep us from getting invested in trying to meet up outside of the messaging app or online forums. Something important considering what will likely happen if they ever saw me in person.”

“So you know their name now, I don’t think that’s as big a deal as you think it is.” Raph mused, “It’s not like they actually said they wanted to meet up is it?”

Mikey nodded in agreement, “Yeah Donald as long as they don’t actually want to meet up you don’t have to worry about that right?”

The purple clad turtle made a noncommittal noise, rubbing his fingers across his brow ridge, “Actually, right after they told me their name, Seren also said they think we should meet up. So…”

All three of his brothers stopped and looked at each other and then back at him, Leo speaking up, “So actually it’s as awkward a situation as it could be. What are you going to do then, if they keep on about meeting up outside of technology. What if they want to video chat at some point?”

“Well that’s my dilemma isn’t it?” he grumbled, “If I agree to a meeting or a video call, more than likely, I freak them out and we never talk again. On the off chance they're not freaked out, I have no idea how we even work that out.”

Raph smiled, pulling his brother in for a hug, with their other two brothers joining in after. 

“Well the good news is you don’t have to try and figure it out all by yourself.” The oldest turtle said, “We can help! And if it doesn’t go how you want we’ll be here for you for that too.”

Donnie grinned and hugged his brothers back, they were absolutely going to tease him for this the whole time but he appreciated their willingness to help him with this whole situation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mae hi wedi cachi arna i - I'm buggered (rough translation)  
> Cariad Bach - little darling


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seren heads home, Ryder fusses over them, and the turtles try to come up with a plan of action to help their brother.

After a melancholy goodbye, Seren’s mother drove them out to the airport and from there they made it through security and on their way to the right gate. The botanist stopped just once, to grab a coffee and a small breakfast, this way they would last until lunch got served on the flight. They were a little weird about flying, mostly because they hated the idea of being late and missing their flight, so they always arrived two hours early. Since they had time and it would probably be a while before they landed, Seren went and sent Donatello a message, letting him know they were on the plane and would be back in New York by nighttime or early morning the next day.

Being back in the city and getting back to work would help a lot, since they’re current project was on the ability of immigrants to be able to get a hold of culturally important plants, they wouldn’t have to travel again anytime soon. Normally their job required a little bit of travel or, at the very least, setting up video calls with people halfway around the world from them. Work wasn’t the only thing they looked forward to either, knowing it would take time but maybe they’d actually get to meet Donatello at some point now. Even if they had to prove that there wasn’t anything that could possibly make you react as badly as he believed you would.

‘Boarding Flight 287 to New York City’ sounded over the speakers, jolting Seren from their thoughts and getting them moving closer to the desk at their gate. They had to wait until their zone was boarding but luckily they only had their backpack and laptop bag for carryon. As they settled in for the long flight they couldn’t help but smile out the window, despite the sadness still with them over their father because they had something to look forward to even more than before. 

****************************

Donnie woke up a little later than normal, a little crankier than normal because he had been up well past when he should have been working on a new piece of tech for his brothers. He stumbled his way down to the kitchen where the coffee pot was already started, probably Leo or their dad if he had to guess but he was just happy there was already some ready. He made his usual cup, not too sweet and black, before heading up to his lab to see if the diagnostics on the new project were done yet. As soon as the turtle set foot into the room though he could hear the soft ping of his message notification and he opted for checking on that first.

[botanybae_420]: At the airport, waiting to board my plane home. 

[botanybae_420]: I’ll probably be back super late tonight, there’s a couple of layovers. Which is how I managed cheap tickets at the last minute. Go figure.

[botanybae_420]: Just wanted to let you know

Right, Seren was coming back to the states today since the funeral was over and they had to get back to work. His brothers had convinced him to just play it cool for now and keep trying to put off meeting up if you brought it up again. Donnie did appreciate their help but was a little worried about what kind of plan the three of them might come up with. His brothers were capable, both Mikey and Leo were good with people and Raph was a sensitive guy which meant he was very good about wording things tactfully. However all he wanted was help with meeting face to face, not anything else and he didn’t trust that his brothers wouldn’t try to push further. They clearly thought he was more invested than just being friends with Seren and that could lead to one of them suggesting something way out of line.

Maybe he didn’t think about any of this too hard before he was completely awake, considering the mixed feelings he had about the whole thing. Donnie was mostly just frustrated because he wishes it was as easy as saying that, yeah, of course the two of them could meet up. He’d thought he was past a lot of his issues with being a mutant and how that affected any possibility of ‘normalcy’, but this whole situation had brought it all back to the forefront of his mind. The turtle would never change how he came to be but it would be nice if people didn’t freak out when they saw him. 

“Alright Don, enough of that.” He grumbled to himself, “You have a lot of work to get through today and you’re not going to get any of it done if you sit here, lost in thought.”

***********************

“I can see how you might be embarrassed over something like that.” Ryder said, adjusting the phone against his ear, “But he seemed to take it okay, so that’s a good sign. I would say maybe try something a little bit less exciting than just trying to meet up. Like a phone call maybe?”

He leaned down to pick up the mewling kitten at his feet and she let out a sweet little chitter as he held her against his chest. She settled almost immediately, the brat, and he knew letting Seren coddle her as much as they had would continue to encourage this behavior. Peaches was lucky she was so cute and otherwise well behaved or he’d have put his foot down more about it.

“You’re probably right.” Seren replied, voice almost lost to an announcement on their end, “I’m not in a rush to meet him but it feels like we’ve already done all the song and dance we can over a messaging system. And… I mean I want to know more than what I can see on a screen.”

He chuckled, “Well that’s been obvious for the last few weeks. I don’t think I get to see you smile as much as you do when you’re talking to him. Guy really gets to you huh?”

“Ryder Wilson we have talked about this!” the botanist squeaked, “We. Are. Friends. That’s it! There is nothing else to read into! At All!”

“You let me know when you have actually convinced yourself of the one Ren, because all I hear is a poor attempt at denial.” the man shot back, “Besides I literally work with couples all day for work, I think I know what I’m seeing. I’ve only seen literally hundreds of poor pining fools trying to catch the attention of whoever it is they’re into.”

He could hear them grumbling on the other end and knew he’d made a good enough point they probably wouldn’t argue anymore. Probably. They might also decide now is a good time to change the subject.

“You’re not entirely wrong, but I’m trying not to think about that.” they finally conceded, “I’m trying just to worry about it as a friendship and nothing else, in an attempt to not feel too… much about everything.”

Another announcement went off in the background and Seren groaned, “I’d love to talk about it more but that was the boarding call for my next flight. I’ll see you when you come to pick me up later.”

They hung up on him before he had the chance to say anything else and he sighed, looking down to the little calico kitten in his arms. Ryder slid the phone back into his pocket and brought his now free hand up to scratch Peaches behind her ears, earning him sleepy meows. The little rascal would be pleased as punch to have her owner back in the apartment and he would be glad to have her out of his hair. 

“Your mom needs serious love life and interpersonal help.” He said to the cat, “and they need to stop trying to fight everything they feel that they can’t have.”

He placed the kitten on her tower, relieved when she stayed asleep after resettling and moved back to where he’d been cleaning the kitchen before his phone call. Ryder did want to make sure everything was clean before his roommate got home, it meant one less thing for them to worry about and they had enough as it was. Besides still dealing with their father’s passing, they also had the interviews and research for their current work project, not to mention the added stress of their little incident with their internet friend. Now if he could just get them to actually talk about it like an adult instead of this blushing teen whose never had a crush before that would be ideal.

He was going to have his work cut out for him.

*******************

Donnie had locked himself in the lab for the day more or less, Mikey had managed to get him to take food breaks at least but he had stayed busy with his projects all day. Which left his brothers to talk and plan about his problem of what to do if this internet ‘friend’ wanted to meet up or video chat, basically anything that required them to be able to see each other. While Leo was loath to say it, Raph actually had more experience here since he and Casey had been dating for two years now. Their older brother had suggested that maybe Donnie offer phone calls, which would feel more like a proper conversation than just some messages and could be a good starting point. 

“I don’t know man, I think he should just set up the meeting and figure out if they’re going to run.” Leo mused, “If he gets more attached before showing them his face and they freak out it’s going to be worse.”

“Or the phone calls and taking more time to get to know each other give them the option to look past his appearance even if it does freak them out at first.” Raph retorted, “Casey knew what we looked like but getting to know her better helped both of us look past anything we had done before. All the steps to get to the end are just as important as the end result.”

Mikey nodded, “He’s got a point Leo, if they have reasons to be invested outside of looks Donald has a better chance of actually getting the… cutie is probably a safe, neutral term right? Not that he knows what they look like either.”

“Yeah what if we go to all this trouble and Donnie actually can’t stand the way they look?” Leo added, “Then what?”

“First things first, I don’t think that’s a likely scenario.” Raph started, “And secondly, you’re going to taint our valiant efforts to help with negative vibes. It doesn’t matter if it’s perfect, it probably won’t be, what matters is that we convince Donnie to try and keep this relationship he cares about. And you know, the chance to meet this person he’s grown invested in.”

Well, Leonardo didn’t have anything witty to say back to that actually and it was nice to see their brother focused on something outside of his tech or any of their usual go tos. Not to mention that whoever this Seren was, they seemed to care an awful lot about Donnie and that was something they wanted for him. 

“Well that’s fair but we can’t act like it’s not possible for this plan to end poorly or have serious issues.” the blue clad turtle said, “It is something to keep in mind.”

His other two brothers nodded, that was a fair point. While Mikey finished up making dinner, the three of them continued to come up with ideas and discuss possible issues with the plan to help their brother. They promised they’d help him and they meant it.

**************************

Despite their plane having left London at eleven thirty that morning between the layovers and everything else it was just after ten in the evening when they landed in New York. A quick text to Ryder to let him know to head this way and then they waited for their turn to file off the plane. There was something a little magical about the mostly empty and closed down airport, it was a nice change from the noisy atmosphere on their last flight. Just the sound of their shoes and suitcase wheels against the tile, the subtle scent of chemicals and the last remnants of fast food smell as all that was left this time of night.

The cool, fresh air of the New York evening was relieving and honestly made them feel like they really were back home. Seren found a bench to sit on while they waited for their friend to come get them, sending a text to their mother and letting her know they made it back safely. As well as another message to Donnie, letting him know they were back and exhausted but safe nonetheless. It took about twenty minutes before they saw Ryder’s powder blue vintage convertible mustang, the blonde behind the wheel looking a little wind blown. 

“You look exhausted Ren,” He grinned, “Maybe the fresh air on the way back to the apartment will wake you up enough to at least unpack tonight.”

“Twll dy din,” They shot back, “I’ll unpack whenever I damn well please. Yer lucky I was awake when you got here, I couldn’ fall asleep on my las’ flight. Someone decided they would jus’ let their children scream for mos’ of it.”

Considering their accent was in full swing, he would say they were pretty pissed about not getting that nap and he should tread carefully until they got some rest.

“Alright, I will keep any jokes to myself until tomorrow morning.” He offered, “And I will cook every meal.”

Seren sighed, letting him take the bags from the to put in the trunk, “Apology accepted you twat. Now please jus’ take me home so I can pass out for twelve hours.”

“As you wish.” Ryder replied, getting back behind the wheel, “I’ll have you home sooner than you can complain about how your visit was.”

And with that the two headed back to their apartment, Seren ready to sleep in their own bed and Ryder just happy that his friend seemed to be feeling very much like themself still. The next week was still going to be far longer than either was ready for, but in this moment the city night life and the wind were all that seemed to be present.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Twll dy din - bugger off


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seren and Donnie are both encouraged to try a phone call, it goes about as well as any first proper conversation can.

“You do realize that you know this guy's brain better than you know mine and you’ve known him for a fraction of how long you’ve known me.” Ryder stated, one eyebrow raised, “But you have no idea what he sounds or looks like?”

“We were two months into our messaging and friendship when we figured out we lived in the same city!” Seren snorted, “Besides by that point he had already pointed out that he had a condition that made people freak out. I didn’t want to push him away by trying to move too fast!”

Peaches meowed indignantly when she realized her owner was no longer petting her, butting her head up against their hand in an attempt to get more attention. The botanist idly scratched the kitten’s ears as they spoke up again, “He’s easy to talk to and he keeps up with me when I start to ramble. He doesn’t tell me I sound foolish or childish for being passionate.”

Ryder sat down across the couch from them, “You know this technically counts as a crush, right? You very obviously admire the guy and think he’s something special. He clearly feels the same or he wouldn’t have been checking in on you while you were back home dealing with your father’s funeral.”

They let their head fall back against the couch and groaned, because of course they knew they had a crush. That had been glaringly obvious after the whole fiasco during the wake, drunk Seren had been more than happy to act on those feelings and be blunt about wanting to see Donatello. Peaches had finally settled into their lap, purring loudly as they continued their idle petting. 

“I know.” they whispered, “And I don’t want to try and push for too much too fast but I want to have more than just messages. I wanna know if he sounds like I think he does, if his eyes are every bit as bright and perceptive as I imagine them being. I want to know more.”

It was odd to see Seren looking so lacking in confidence in themself because they were always very sure of their decisions. This was an area of life in which the most experience they had was a couple of bad dates in highschool, a shitty boyfriend in college and a girl they had gone on two dates with and then she had ghosted. They also weren’t the kind of person who was actively looking for that, mostly because they needed time to create the connection necessary to want anything more. Which led back to their bad dating history.

“Look, you don’t have to meet him. You two can work up to that.” He mused, “You could however maybe see if he’s comfortable talking over the phone? No faces get seen and you two get to have something a little more than just messages on a screen.”

His roommate and friend sighed, nodding their head in agreement but not saying anything in response. Ryder chuckled, because that was always your response when he was right and you didn’t want to tell him that but you also couldn’t argue with his logic. Now all he had to do was make sure they followed through and asked about making the phone call.”

Another groan, “You’re not going to leave me alone until I do it are you? You’ll just stand there looking smug until I send the message and then you’ll be all nice and encouraging even though I am being a brat.”

“I sure am, but if you do it now we can skip the same old song and dance.” He replied easily, “And then you’ll be free of my smug mug.”

“Fine.” they grumbled, pulling out their phone and finding the message app but faltering before clicking on it. Seren stared at the screen for a couple of minutes, taking a deep breath and then finally started typing out the messages.

[botanybae_420]: So the last time I said I needed to talk was kind of, unprompted, but I think this time is a little less so.

[botanybae_420]: I know we agreed on not meeting because of reasons we both know and agreed to, so I don’t expect that drunk me will be getting that wish fulfilled anytime soon.

[botanybae_420]: But maybe we could try a phone call? No video chat or anything.

[botanybae_420]: Just us talking. Promise.

Seren turned the phone and showed it to their friend, proof that they had done as he suggested.His subdued laughter was not expected however and when they looked up at him they could see he had a hand over his mouth to stifle the noise.

“What are you laughing at Ryder?” Ren frowned, “What is so funny?”

“Dude, your message sounds like an awkward business proposition almost.” He wheezed, “There are a thousand better ways you could have said that.”

“It does not sound that bad! It’s a little… formal, but it doesn’t sound so bad that it’s funny you jerk.” They mumbled, looking back at the messages. Well okay, they could see why he would find it funny, but his whole job is couples therapy and helping people actually approach interpersonal issues, of course he’s good at wording things like this.

“Well, now all you have to do is wait.” He said once he’d finally stopped laughing, “Which is probably the worst part, or at least, that’s what my clients say anyways.”

Right, all they just had to do was wait and hope that he actually answered before they died from either impatience or embarrassment.

*********************

“Look man all you have to do is ask if they’re cool with a call over like a face to face meeting.” Leo explained, “It’s easy and all you gotta do if they ask why is tell them you’re still nervous about your ‘condition’.”

Donnie rolled his eyes, “I know how to do this Leo, but thank you for your very easy to follow directions. Will you leave the room so I can at least do this without feeling like any of you are backseat driving?”

His brother put up his hands and walked out of the room, leaving him to send his message without watchful eyes. Well, he would have sent his message if you hadn’t beat him to the punch by asking exactly what he was going to.

[bootyshaker9000]: You know I was going to ask the same thing and it’s an awfully weird coincidence that you asked first.

[bootyshaker9000]: So yeah, I would be okay with a phone call. You just have to promise not to cry at how beautiful my voice is.

[botanybae_420]: You know I forgot how full of yourself you are, maybe I don’t want to call anymore.

[botanybae_420]: I don’t need someone else being rude today.

[bootyshaker9000]: Someone else being rude? What has happened to you today?

[botanybae_420]: My roommate pushed me to message you about this, and then made fun of me for how i asked.

[botanybae_420]: You’re lucky I haven’t died from embarrassment yet.

[bootyshaker9000]: It would be hard to call if you were dead.

[bootyshaker9000]: So you want to call or should I? Just to save you any further flustering. 

[botanybae_420]: Just for that comment, you can be the one to call me.

[bootyshaker9000]: Touche.

They already had each other's numbers, had to for the messaging app they used but he still sat there for a moment just staring at his phone. Donnie finally hit the call button, but ultimately hung up before it went through. This should be easy, it’s just a phone call. As his phone’s ringtone went off he jumped, looking at the caller ID and realizing that Seren was calling him. He hit the answer button and waited for a moment before he heard their voice.

“I’m going to assume you hung up on accident, because I know you’re not the kind of guy who would call someone and then back out.” They started, voice wavering for just a moment, “But I mean if you're not up for talking I can handle all the conversation.”

Their voice was a smoky and just slightly lilting sound, it was a bit more feminine than he had imagined although he did know that they were AFAB so it made sense. Dammit, he was supposed to be talking to them too, not sitting here worrying they would hate the way he sounded.

“Oh and let you have all the fun?” He retorted, “Besides the hangup was a complete accident because you’re correct and I would never back out of a phone call.”

Low, muffled giggling is not quite what he expected but he wasn’t going to complain because their giggling was nice to listen to. Better than them telling him he’d made them laugh, because he got to hear their response himself.

“Goddess, you sound only a little like I expected but the voice is fitting honestly.” Seren said softly, “Good to know you’re as ridiculous over the phone as you are in our messages.”

They had to admit, they’d expected something a little more nasal, but his voice was smooth and honeyed, just a bit deeper than they had expected. Still hearing his voice at all was more than they thought they were going to get at all. 

Donnie snorted, “Like yours is at all what I expected, because it’s not. You sound much softer and almost singsong like, which is not really what I thought you would sound like. Is that like a you thing or a welsh thing?”

More laughter, followed by them clearing their throat, “It’s a welsh thing, mine isn’t even as bad as it used to be when I was a kid. We all just kind of sound like we’re singing our sentences, but it’s just the way our accents sound. Everyone else in the UK thinks we sound pretentious because of it, but hey what can you do.”

“Well if it makes you feel better it doesn’t sound pretentious at all to me.” He assured them, “So this is going to be a weird request but would you say something in welsh? I’m just very curious, consider it a scientific request.”

“Sure but I promise it’s going to sound ridiculous to you.” Seren chuckled, mentally preparing themself to say their next sentence, “Rwy'n eich edmygu ond dwi'n meddwl eich bod chi'n wirion bach.”

The first thing he notices is how easily the words flow, despite sounding a bit ridiculous like they had warned him it might. It was a bit song like even, so he could see how that would blend into their accent outside of their native language. 

“I… wow, that did sound ridiculous and yet at the same time it sounded like the prettiest thing I’ve ever heard?” He mused, “Do you not speak welsh very often here? Or do most people just give you odd looks?”

“I usually only slip into welsh if I’m angry or if I’m surprised, so no I’m not usually speaking it here.” They explained, humming for a moment, “It is something I get weird looks for but it hasn’t stopped me yet. I also constantly have to explain to people how to say my name.” 

Right, their name was also welsh and he had no idea if he’d been saying it correctly at all. He should probably correct that now, while he had them on the phone.

“Speaking of your name, how do you pronounce it?” He asked, “I would really hate to have been butchering it terribly this whole time.”

“You probably weren’t too off, it’s not that hard to say.” Seren chuckled, “It’s Seh-ren, most people just mess up the first syllable and rolling the r. Most of my friends just stick with calling me Ren though, it’s easier and honestly I don’t mind it. So you know, feel free to do so.”

“I don’t know I really like the way your whole name sounds.” Donnie replied without thinking, “So it’s Seh-ren. Seren. Seren.”

It’s a good thing he seemed distracted for the moment, so he couldn’t hear when they practically choked on air as he said their name repeatedly. It was kind of rude for their name to sound so good coming out of his mouth, but hell if they were going to stop him.

“Y-yeah it sounds like you got it,” They managed to choke out, “You really can just say Ren, it’s not going to offend me.”

“I could,” He started, “But I won’t. And we don’t have time to argue over it because I know you should be going to bed soon.”

Of course he would do that, have the last word and give them a legitimate reason not to argue with him. Fine, they’d let him have this one.

“You’re not wrong and I hate that right now.” Seren grumbled, “Goodnight Donatello. Talk to you soon, enaid.”

They manage to catch him off guard so that he doesn’t get the chance to say goodnight back to them and he barely catches that last word. He just stares at his phone for a moment before setting it aside and leaning back in the chair. He got to talk to you, not how he would have wanted to but baby steps, they would get there maybe. Hopefully you wouldn’t freak out when it happened. If it happened.

“You okay in there Donald? We just wanted to make sure you hadn’t backed out of the deal.” Leo called from the other side of his door, “And you know if you did call, did it go well? Did they like you?”

Donnie walked to his door and opened it, revealing all three of his brothers, “The call went great. You actually have perfect timing for once, we just got off the phone.”

Mikey narrowed his eyes, “Then how do we know you talked to them? That you didn’t chicken out?”

Donnie rolled his eyes but showed them the the call log which showed the twenty minute call with Seren and Mikey nodded, “Okay well that’s pretty good proof, but how do we know-”

“Mikey would you quit it, even his mood being better from earlier is proof they actually talked.” Raph interrupted, “Besides even if he didn’t show us we shouldn’t be nosy because at the end of the day the choice is his to make about how he handles this.”

As Mikey and Raph got into a back and forth about how much of his business they should put their noses into, he just smiled. Things were looking better instead of worse like he’d been worried about and it was thanks to his brothers butting in where he might not have necessarily liked. When it worked out like this how could he be mad?

*********************

“So going by how rosy your cheeks are, I’d say the phone call went well?” Ryder asked casually as Seren walked into the kitchen, “I have to admit, it’s nice to see you a little less put together than normal.”

They had just come out here to get some water before going to bed, hoping that maybe their roommate wasn’t waiting to see how things went. A silly idea, to think that the man who worked with couples and people with interpersonal issues , would not be waiting to see how their first phone call went.

“Yes it went well,” They replied, “And now I’m going to bed because I have to be up very early to start my research interviews tomorrow. My first one is down in Staten Island so I’ve got to get up pretty early.”

Seren didn’t even give him the chance to say anything else, because despite how tired they were this was the best they’d felt all month. It hadn’t been a long call, just something short and, hopefully, something they would do again. They really hoped so, because even if they still didn’t get to actually see this guy that they had been talking to for the last five months, hearing his voice had been more than enough. Well, for now at least, but hey they would take what they would get. Now they just had to wait and see where exactly the road would lead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rwy'n eich edmygu ond dwi'n meddwl eich bod chi'n wirion bach - I admire you, but I think you're a little silly.  
> enaid - friend; dear one


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seren struggles with why the progression of their friendship with Donnie scares them, Ryder talks it out with them and in the end, Donatello reminds them he would never think less of them for any of it.

They totally hadn’t been avoiding another phone call, Seren was just too busy with work interviews and writing their research project. At least that’s what they were saying to Ryder and Donnie, because in truth they were… well, feeling something about the whole situation. Sure the phone call had been good, it had been great even but that couldn’t be the way it stayed forever. Donnie seemed to understand, but Ryder gave them ‘the look’ every time they gave him their excuse for why they couldn’t commit to another phone call just yet. They knew what he was going to say to them, that they’re self sabotaging right now and they need to confront the reason behind that. Which was not really something they wanted to delve into right now, when they were still feeling emotionally compromised from everything with their father.

“Maybe I can just do a phone call while I work,” Seren grumbled to themself as they drove, “I do that all the time with my mam and sisters, so it should work. Probably.”

Why was it so hard to just go through with another phone call? It should be as easy as just calling him, like they did the first time and yet they found themselves hesitating. Was it because his voice was distracting? Was it the way he said their name? Was it that they were worried about him deciding, now that they had taken a step towards strengthening their friendship, that he didn’t want to talk to them anymore. It wouldn’t be the first time that it had happened like that for them, people had been a bit cruel back home in the UK, especially once they were in secondary school. As they pulled up to a stop sign they rested their head against the steering wheel for a moment in a poor attempt to calm their thoughts.

A honk from the car behind them startled them into a sitting position and then through the stop sign once they checked to make sure it was safe. Hopefully this next interview would keep their mind off all this mess, Seren hated feeling so emotionally distraught over something that should be a good thing.

***********************

Donnie was busy working on his own projects, new tools for he and his brothers to use on patrol and in fights, which is why he hadn’t thought too much about Seren’s inability to take any calls this week. He was down to the very delicate work right now, circuitry and other things like that which required his very focused and not at all distracted attention. Which were both things he was, obviously, totally focused on the task at hand and not at all thinking about how much he would like to hear Seren’s voice again. 

“Dammit,” He grumbled under his breath, pulling his soldering gun from the metal and pulling his goggles up, “Why can’t I focus on this for longer than ten seconds?”

He knew why, it was the same thing he’d just been telling himself wasn’t bothering him. Donatello understood getting wrapped up in work, but between being worried for his friend and wanting to just hear their voice again, he thought it was odd they were avoiding another call. Or at least, it felt like they were avoiding another call and he couldn’t imagine why since their first call had gone so well. Had he said something? Done something? Surely they would have told him, they always had before.

“Come on Donatello,” He whispered to himself, “Thinking about what ifs isn’t going to help you feel better about it. Or concentrate on what you should be doing right now.”

Maybe he could just drop them a message and ask if they just didn’t want to call, being up front would help settle his anxiety and restless thoughts. However, it also meant having to deal with an answer he might not want to hear. He could also just drop a message to see how they were doing, that way he could see if they were doing okay and he didn’t push too much for answers. It would also help with the aforementioned restlessness and anxiety.

[bootyshaker9000]: Hey, just wanted to check on you. You always get on my case when I work too much or too hard.

[bootyshaker9000]: Just wanted to make sure you were taking care of yourself.

Donatello sighed, now he just had to wait and see if he got a response. He hated waiting.

*********************

Ryder had been watching his friend since they got home and he had known all week that something was off and now he was trying to figure out how to approach it. If he was too forward about it he would scare them off and if he wasn’t forward enough they would brush it off like they had all week.

“You doing okay over there Ren?” He asked, “You seem a little tense for someone who was excited about this research project. You uh, you want to talk about it?”

Seren sighed, because they did want to talk about it but they were still conflicted over why they were upset at all. Ryder was going to be one of the better people they could talk to and the only other person they would even consider talking to would be their mother.

“I’m just… doing that thing you always get mad at me for.” They started, “You know where I start making friends and then decide they’re going to hate me even though I have no way of knowing if it’s true or not.”

They waited for the lecture, for him to say that he was right but it never came. When they looked over to him finally they could see the look on his face, somewhere between sympathy and pity. 

“At least you’re acknowledging it this time,” He said, thinking about his words, “Maybe we should break this down a little more, because that’s still kind of vague. I can’t help you at all if I don’t have more to go off of.”

They nodded, that made sense and moved to sit at the table because if they were going to talk about it properly they would be here for a while.

“I think I kind of know where it stems from.” Seren mumbled, “I didn’t have a lot of friends growing up you know. Every time I thought I was going to finally make a friend it almost always turned out to be some kind of joke. I just kind of stopped trying to make friends eventually.”

They took a deep breath, trying to keep themself from shaking as they spoke, although Ryder could tell that this was really upsetting them. 

“My Da always told me I should ignore it, but still give people a chance. It took you six months to convince me we were actually friends back in college and you saw how things went with Sally. She convinced me she cared about me and instead played me like a fiddle and disappeared when I wouldn’t be who she wanted me to be.” They sighed, “It’s not so much that I don’t trust other people, I don’t trust my own judgement. It always ends up biting me in the ass.”

He took a moment, thinking about everything they’d said and it was all stuff that made sense. It was the kind of behavior he had recognized in them, one he wanted to help with but they had not been terribly receptive to before. There was also something more recent to consider.

“Please feel free to tell me this is out of line,” He stated, “But I think something else you should consider as a factor is that you just lost your father. You two were close and while maybe the fields of science are not the same, he reminds you of your dad. Which means your fear of loss in that situation is even worse than normal.”

There was a moment of irritation at what he said, except that it made sense as to why this felt so much worse than any of the times this had happened before. It also explained why it was so damn easy to like him, he was similar to their dad, who had been the man who’d inspired them to become who they were. It clicked in that moment and instead of being frustrated over it there was a relief in pinpointing what had been making them feel so anxious.

“I hate that you’re right” they grumbled, “But you are right. I wasn’t this worked up over it until everything with my dad.”

There were a few moments of silence between them, Ryder not wanting to break it just in case they had something else to say and Seren trying to decide if they wanted to add anything else.

“I told him a lot of stories about my dad and do you know what he said? He said he related and that he thought my dad was brilliant despite being a bit daft sometimes.” They laughed, “We messaged for way too long with just me talking about my Da and he was just content to listen.”

“You two connected even more over the stories,” Ryder mused, “Explains enough about why drunk Seren was hellbent on getting him to meet up.”

The botanist rolled their eyes at him, “Yeah, I guess that’s part of it. I think the other part is that it really reinforced that the two of us have connected over our love of knowledge despite having pretty different fields of specialization. Something I’ve found hard to do, even outside of my inability to play nice and make friends.”

“And you're scared of losing that if something goes wrong?” He asked, “Worried that at some point he’s going to decide he’s tired of you? That he’ll disappear out of your life or that he’ll turn out to be someone else pulling your leg?”

They wanted to say no of course not, because over all their months of communication they had always just kind of had the instinctual feeling that he was being genuine with them. The witty back and forths, the way he was always curious about their work and the way he talked so passionately about his own work when they asked questions.

“Of course I’m scared, I haven’t ever… felt this connected or in tune with another person ever.” Seren said slowly, choosing every word carefully, “I’m only this freaked out because losing this particular person from my life would be… it would change everything I’ve gotten comfortable with. He’s just a part of my life at this point, someone I can’t imagine not having in my daily routine.”

Oh, they were stupid and foolish. They looked up at the clock, realizing they still had some time tonight to talk with him, but they needed to get a hold of him quickly. Ryder noticed the shift in mood and raised an eyebrow, “ Ren, are you-”

“You know, this has been enlightening and you know I love you Ry.” they started, cutting him off, “But I have to go talk to Donnie and tell him I’m a complete idiot.”

His friend was already up and moving across the room before he could say anything and he chuckled. Well, he wasn’t going to stand between Ren and something they wanted, he’d learned the hard way they were too hard headed for that to go over well. Donnie should consider himself lucky no matter how Seren stayed in his life, because they were a damn gift to have even when they were being bullheaded and foolish.

************************

Donnie has settled in for the night, Mikey and Raph are on patrol and Leo has moved to the training room for the rest of the evening. He’s mostly going between his project and doing a little bit of reading, too focused to have noticed the message notification from his computer. So of course when his ringtone goes off, he jumps enough to almost fall out of his seat. He fumbles for a moment, managing to answer before the call goes to voicemail.

“Donnie?” Serens says, voice sounding softer than he would have thought, “Please tell me you’re there. You weren’t answering my messages in the chat.”

“I… yeah I’m here.” He mumbled, “Are you okay?”

Tired laughter sounded from the other end and he could hear them sigh after, “I don’t know if okay is the right word. I’ve been thinking a lot today. Not always great for me.”

A small moment of silence before they continued, “I’m sorry for avoiding calling again. I… have a hard time with being friends and- and believing that people are actually interested in being friends. It’s not an excuse of course, I have to work on that, but I don’t want it to ruin what we have because I just cannot even imagine what it would be like to go back to how things were before.”

They’d talked themself breathless, taking a moment to catch their breath and try to calm down a bit. 

“So I just… I’m sorry that I let all my stupid insecurities get to me. I know you, even without having met you, I know you aren’t that kind of person.” They stated, “I’m sorry it took me all week to figure it out and finally call you again.”

Oh. Well that answered a lot of questions for him. He did remember they’d talked about having bad interpersonal skills and had said people were always difficult to get along with. They had seemed uncomfortable with the topic so he’d never pushed it, but what they just said explained a lot.

“It’s okay,” He says, the words leaving him before he realizes it, “It’s a relief to know I didn’t do anything to scare you off.”

A moment passes by in silence. 

“You’re not mad? Because I wouldn’t blame you.” They asked, “I… I shouldn’t have punished you for something that’s not even your fault and-”

“It’s not your fault either,” He retorts before they can finish the statement, “Seren, you just lost the most important person in your life and have a track record of people leaving your life apparently, I don’t blame you for having self doubt and anxiety over this. You didn’t let it win either, our current conversation is proof of that.”

He waits to make sure they don’t have anything else to add, “I want to understand, but I’m not mad at you. How can I be when you came to me and admitted it, you just apologized for the very thing you’re worried about me being mad about. I find it hard to be upset when it was obviously eating you alive all week.”

“That’s good because I do not want to be on the receiving end of your anger.” They joked, “I hear you’re a force to be reckoned with when someone has done you wrong.”

They both laughed, easing the bit of tension that had formed.

“So, is that all you wanted to talk about?” He asked, “Or do you think we have enough time to talk about the week?”

He could practically hear the smile in their voice as they spoke, “I think we have time to talk about the week, besides I want to hear all the things I missed out on talking about.”

The two talked until it was past Seren’s bedtime, well into the night until they were falling asleep on him over the phone. He convinced them to get some sleep and they could call again tomorrow to talk more. The way they promised him they would call back left him light and content before focusing back on his project, no longer plagued by the anxiety from earlier.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seren and Donnie revisit the idea of meeting up. The conversation doesn't go as hoped. Ryder and Donnie help pick up the pieces.

Between finally reaching the end of their interviews and having to buckle down on finishing the written part of their research, Seren had mostly been calling Donnie during dinner and when they took breaks from work. In the time since their second phone call they had done a lot of back and forth on the best time for calls, on more than one occasion one or the other had fallen asleep from the late night talks. So now they tried to plan calls for during meals or at least before ten, because all the late nights had almost made Seren late a couple of times and actually late for one of their interviews. Dinner worked best, since Donatello was properly awake at that time and that gave them at least half an hour to talk. It’s not like they didn’t use the messaging app anymore but they mostly used it when they weren’t able to be in a place for a phone call. 

The botanist was feeling a little spoiled to be honest, the last two and a half weeks of this was amazing. It was so different to get to talk to him and hear his voice than just see the text on screen and imagine what he sounded like. It certainly helped sate their desire to know more about him, but it wasn’t helping with the fact that they desperately wanted to meet him in person. Which of course was not a subject they wanted to broach because they ran the risk of causing issues. Seren understood his discomfort with meeting face to face, about as much as they could from what he had told them. How were they supposed to make him understand that his appearance was literally the last thing they cared about. Donatello was intelligent, funny, snarky and just amazing, not that he was perfect but he was a good matchup for their own personality. Of course any attempt to try and tell him any of that was going to end in one of two ways: the first being that they inadvertently admitted having a crush on him and the second being that they actually inadvertently offended him by coming off as pushy.

They sighed, letting their head fall against their desk, this wasn’t getting them anywhere. All they had done was get themself flustered and manage to write a singular new sentence on their paper. Ryder was right, they couldn’t keep this up forever and if they didn’t at least ask about meeting again it was going to keep driving them crazy. Dammit.

They lifted their head to look at the computer screen, minimizing their word document and opening up the messenger application. Seren stared at the chat bar for a second, wondering if this was really the best decision to make while they were half asleep and worn out from work. They decided if they didn’t do it now they’d just keep talking themself out of doing it. Even if he didn’t see the messages right now, he would see them at some point tonight. Now would he answer them, or would he side step the question entirely? Who knew, Seren would just have to wait and find out. 

*********************

Donnie had patrol duty that night, which was why they had to forgo their routine phone call for the day. He had promised to make it up to them later, setting aside extra time for a longer phone call at some point. So of course imagine his surprise when he sees the messenger notification on his computer going off when he gets back. The purple clad turtle removes his gear first and then settled in at his desk, opening up the messages.

[botanybae_420]: Hey, I know you’re out right now.

[botanybae_420]: I wanted to bring up meeting again.

[botanybae_420]: I know what you’ve said about it.

[botanybae_420]: I also know you literally couldn’t scare me off no matter how you looked or acted in person.

[botanybae_420]: I don’t expect a different answer, but I did want to say that I still want to meet you.

[botanybae_420]: You’re probably the first real friend I’ve made in years. I hate not getting to hang out with you. 

[botanybae_420]: And no our phone calls don’t count. So that’s not a valid argument.

Well he had expected to have this conversation again, considering they had nearly three weeks of calls between them now. Donnie himself was eager to get the chance to meet them and they had told him over and over again that they would never let his appearance bother them. It was still hard to take that chance, because it’s easy for someone to say they don’t care but it’s harder when they’re actually in the situation. Sure, plenty of mutants and yokai walked around without worrying, but the majority of people in the city freaked out when they realized the turtles weren’t wearing costumes. He enjoyed their friendship and presence way too much to risk losing that and maybe, some small part of him, was worried that they wouldn’t be scared but getting anymore involved with him and his brothers meant other problems. 

Sure most of their fighting was with the handful of baddies who had stuck around since they had finally gotten rid of the Shredder, but that was still more danger than he wanted to put someone else in just for knowing him. Not to mention that Seren knowing that part of his life meant that they would probably end up worrying over him and he didn’t want to put that stress on them, not when they’d spent their whole life worrying over their dad’s health and had just lost him. Or maybe that was just an excuse, an out for him, to put off any possibility of meeting up properly. 

[bootyshaker9000]: Well I disagree, I think our phone calls are perfectly valid hang out sessions.

[bootyshaker9000]: But I can’t say I haven’t thought about wanting to meet up in person myself.

[bootyshaker9000]: Despite my hesitance, I do want to meet you.

[bootyshaker9000]: I just don’t want to do that and then also lose this amazing friendship we’ve cultivated.

[bootyshaker9000]: Never expect that level of honesty and straightforwardness from me again.

[bootyshaker9000]: Just this once.

He reads and rereads what he has sent, it’s not an outright answer in either direction but maybe that’s for the best. They could meet up one day but he isn’t going to say one way or the other how soon it might be. Donnie would have to convince himself he was perfectly content with talking over the phone and was, in no way, at all eager to try and find a way to meet up. Halloween was coming up and would give him plenty of options for meeting up and not giving away any secrets too quickly. He knew Leo wanted him to just meet up with Seren, even Mikey had brought up it might not be a bad idea to plan a meeting. Which meant he wasn’t telling anyone else about this little back and forth, because he did not want to invite any of them to bring up any wild ideas that would, like most of his brother's wild plans, go poorly.

Here’s to hoping this answer was enough to at least divert their attention for now.

*******************************

Leo furrowed his brow, watching his twin once again pace around the upper floor of the lair, phone to his ear and gesturing with his hands in a manner that let him know the purple clad turtle was having an intense back and forth. Which wouldn’t have been an issue if the person on the other side of the call wasn’t the internet ‘friend’ Donnie very clearly cared a lot about. The call had clearly started fine, but after one of Donatello’s responses the tone of the conversation had changed. Anyone else might not have noticed, but he could see it in his twin's face, he had said something that had upset the other person and was clearly getting an earful. Which had led to the current back and forth Leo had been watching for the last ten minutes.

He was glad that the phone calls had worked out so well, but it had seemed kind of obvious that they would only hold off any further conversation about meeting in person. Just from what Donald had shared with them, Seren had seemed pretty eager to skip any middle area and just meet up. While the phone calls had sated some of that want they hadn’t kept it away for long and now he was thinking he should have pushed for his brother to get over himself and meet up. He was for sure not going to let him not talk about whatever was going on right now. All he had to do was wait for the right moment, Mikey and Raph were going to be headed out on patrol soon and he’d be able to have a twin to twin conversation with Donnie about fixing whatever he’d just mucked up.

He offered a small wave as his younger and older brothers passed by on their way out of the lair, waiting until he was sure they were gone to make his way to the upper level. Leo heard the tail end of the conversation from Donnie’s side as he got closer, snorting under his breath at his twin’s apology to the person on the other end of the phone. 

“Yeah, I’m sorry too.” Donatello mumbles into the phone, “We can still talk tomorrow though?”

A moment, the muffled sound of a voice on the other end and Leo can see then tension leave his brother’s shoulder.

“Okay, tomorrow then.” He replied, finally bringing the phone down from his ear and hanging up the call. Clearly he’d been caught up, because when he turned around to see his twin standing there Donnie jumped, eyes wide. Leo grinned, one eyebrow raised, “That didn’t look like a good conversation bro, what did you do? Insult their plants?”  
Donatello opened his mouth, then closed it, then opened it again only to sigh and throw his hands up in the air.

“I didn’t insult their plants,” he started, “They took my hesitance to meet as not wanting to meet them at all. Seren is… more than a little upset about the whole situation and I told them I couldn’t give them an answer on when we could meet.”

Leo nodded, “So they’re as eager as ever for more interactions and you’re still worried you’re ugly mug will scare them off.”

“You’re enjoying this aren’t you?” the purple clad terrapin frowned, “You were right about meeting up sooner rather than later being an issue. Never expect to hear that from me again.”

His twin laughed, “Donald, come one man, just from what you’ve said about them of course they’re eager to have face to face interactions. It’s pretty clear they think highly of you and that you feel the same.”

There were several minutes of silence, Donnie shuffling his feet sheepishly and Leo waiting for his brother to say… well, anything at this point. When that never happened the blue clad turtle sighed, well he’d give his brother a hint then since he couldn’t get it together on his own.

“I know you’ve probably already considered using a halloween party as cover for a meeting.” He said, leaning against the wall, “Plenty of block parties and events going on at the parks, it would be easy to plan something. Of course, meeting up means one of two things. You tell them the truth and get the chance to meet up again or you chicken out and probably upset them even more than you did just now.”

Of course his twin was thinking along the same lines as he was, Leo acted like a fool sometimes but he was way smarter and more perceptive than people gave him credit for. He was right of course, a party would give him reasonable cause for being out and no one was going to think twice about it not being a costume. He was, unfortunately, also right about the fact that he would either have to be honest with them or make up a reason to never see them in person again, which would hurt them. He couldn’t do that to them, because again, despite that they’d only been in his life for six months it would be awfully quiet without them. Not to mention they brought a unique perspective to his life and, not that he didn’t love his friends and family, but Seren brought this sort of brightness into his days. As his friend of course and nothing else. Clearly.

Leo spoke up again, interrupting his train of thought, “Guess you better make a choice then bro, meet up or don’t and be really clear with Seren about it. To prevent any further misunderstandings or arguments.”

Donnie nodded, looking back down at his phone, hoping they both had time to cool off and think properly before their next call. He barely noticed that his twin was still standing there next to him until he felt a hand on his shoulder. Sympathy was not something he expected to see in his brother’s face, he’d expected an ‘I told you so.’ but it was obvious that Leo was worried more than anything.

“I think you should just go meet them, stop worrying so much and stop punishing yourself for something you have no control over.” He half whispered, “If they stuck around and put up with you for this long, I think the way you look isn’t even going to bother them.”

With that the blue clad turtle left his brother to think on what he had said, knowing that Donatello had a big decision to make. He hoped his brother would pick the option that would make him happiest, even if that choice was a little scarier to think about. It was all up to him though.

*******************************

Ryder really wished he could talk to this Donatello fellow himself, because he hated seeing his best friend so upset over somebody. Seren cared about the guy, even if they said they were just friends and that’s it, they cared and it was killing them not to get to have him as a part of their life the way they wanted. The fact of the matter was that the botanist shared their affection for people through shared time and actions, which meant they wanted to actually physically be around the people in their life. It was a gift to have them spend time with someone too, despite how like siblings they seemed, Ryder always felt better after getting to spend time with them. They also somehow always knew what he needed to feel better, witches intuition they often told him but nonetheless it let him know they cared.

So when they had come storming out of their room, phone in hand and very clearly on the verge of tears, he had been immediately up in arms. Seren had only told him they weren’t ready to talk about it, they were going to walk down to the bodega on the corner of their street and then back, to get fresh air and clear their head. Peaches was also being fussy now, clearly understanding her owner was upset and trying to vocalize her own frustration over it. He sighed, scooping the kitten up and scratching behind her ears, walking over to the couch to sit and wait, because at this point he can’t really do anything else. It feels like it takes hours for Ren to get back, even though he knows reasonably it’s maybe thirty minutes. The kitten has fallen asleep on his lap and Ryder himself is trying not to let himself relax into partial unconsciousness as he waits. 

As the front door opens and he can hear his friend swearing under their breath in welsh, a few he recognizes and several more that he doesn’t, it startles him back to alertness. He looks back over the couch at Seren, who is hanging up their coat and setting the two bags from the bodega onto the breakfast bar, only arching an eyebrow when they meet his gaze.

“He’s still being cagey about meetin up.” they finally say, almost too quiet for him to catch, “Even if he doesn’ wan’ to I would rather ge’ a straightforward answer than him actin like a comple’e twll tin and dancin around the damn subjec’.”

The fact that as they talk their accent is almost indiscernible lets him know that they are in fact angry about it, not to mention that he can hear the frustration in their tone. 

“Did you tell him that?” He asks, already knowing he needs to not take away from their control of this conversation, waiting for their answer. 

“I told him when we talk again,” Ren started, slowing themself down, “He had better have an answer for me, period. No more of this runnin around each other nonsense.”

Ah, maybe not the way he would have suggested handling it but they were upset and it was probably what they saw was the only way to deal with it. They wanted an answer, so that they could either look forward to meeting or stop hoping for something that wasn’t going to happen. 

“I take it you two are going to talk again tomorrow? Keep to the usual schedule?” He mused, “Do you think that’s enough time for him to decide properly?”

“It’s the time I’m willin ta give him,” they retorted, “If he doesn’ have a proper answer that in itself is an answer isn’ it?”

He chuckled, “I suppose that’s fair. I just don’t want you to regret not giving him more time later on. Or regretting how you reacted while emotionally compromised.”

“I know Ryder,” Seren mumbled, finally walking over and collapsing on the couch next to him, “I’m jus’ tired and for the firs’ time in my life I’ve found somethin worth puttin up a figh’ for. I don’ know why he can’ understand I’m never goin ta think less of him for anything, especially no’ his looks.”

They leaned over onto their friend, reaching over to pet the kitten in his lap and looking as exhausted as they sounded. He hated this, he hadn’t seen them like this… ever. When they’re shit girlfriend had ghosted them they’d been upset and when supposed ‘friends’ ditched out Seren always struggled for a bit, but it had never been this bad. Ryder had never seen them be so upset over a relationship issue like they were with Donatello and that was what made it all the more obvious that there was something more than just basic friendship here. Even if it wasn’t romantic, he’d become someone important enough in their life that he had sway over their emotions and thoughts. 

“Well I think you should give yourself real time to cool down and relax before you talk to him again.” He started, carefully choosing his words, “If this means that much to you, then you need to deal with it with a clear mind and with support, if you need it.”

They nodded, not looking up and not saying anything. He sighed, placing one hand on either of their cheeks and getting them to look at him.

“Seren Llewellyn, listen to me. You are an incredibly bright and charming individual and if this man cannot see that then he is a fool.” He explained, “If he is as smart as you say he is, then he’s going to pick up on what you’re saying especially if you’re being honest with him. Even if your talk tomorrow doesn’t go the way you think, I don’t think you should give up on this.”

He took a deep breath, “And furthermore you’ve never let anything stop you from chasing your dreams and wants before so I don’t think you’re really going to stop hoping. I know you Ren and I know this dumbass means a lot to you and if he doesn’t pull his head out of his ass I’ll go deal with him myself.”

They looked up at him, looking a bit ridiculous with their face stuck between his hands and after a few moments of silence both of them burst into laughter. They knocked against each other and scared Peaches off the couch as they laughed, both of them nearly breathless. Once they were both calmed down a bit, Seren looked back up to him, wiping their eyes and taking a deep breath.

“Thank you Ryder,” they smiled, “I needed that. Please never stop being yourself and being good at dealing with my bullshit.”

“Oh, don’t worry Ren,” He grinned, “You’re stuck with me unfortunately, so I hope you can deal with me calling you out and helping you laugh.”

The two spent the rest of the evening laughing, talking and reminiscing over snacks, some two bit true crime show playing in the background. Tomorrow would bring new problems, but right now, in this small moment, everything was okay again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> twll tin - arsehole


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Donnie and Seren finally get the chance to meet up on Halloween. Leo follows his brother to ensure he doesn't chicken out and Ryder accompanies Seren for moral support (plus he's their ride home). Will Donnie actually tell Seren the truth without panicking?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry I've been gone for a hot minute, I've had a lot of personal issues come up. Between that and general stress from everything going on in the world it's been a little hard to focus. But I'm back and refocused on my writing, so please enjoy!

Central Park looked pretty cool with all the Halloween booths set up, decorations strung from the trees and lamps, spooky jack o lanterns and hanging ghost lights supplying minimal light amongst the smaller paths. Donatello had to admit, whoever was in charge of the decorations had done a very good job. The tree he’d picked to wait under had been perfect for staying out of the way and keeping an eye out for Seren, who had just messaged him that they were finally on the way to the park. Peaches was having a temper tantrum about both her owner and their roommate being out for the night, which led to a bit of a mess being made.They had apparently managed to get the cat calmed down and snuck out before she could throw a second fit, finally allowing them to get to the park. He was lucky of course that his invitation had gone well at all, they had been pretty upset with him.

“You’re kidding me right?” they said, the frown audible in their voice, “You were just saying we couldn’t meet up and now you do want to meet up. Would you please make up your damn mind?”

He cleared his throat, “I deserve that. Look, I thought about it and at least on Halloween I can feel comfortable being out and you can finally decide if I look as terrible as I think I do. You don’t have to take me up on it and I wouldn't blame you if you didn’t.”

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, he could vaguely hear some shuffling around and finally he heard what sounded like a frustrated sigh.

“I could pretend to not want to say yes, but that would be a lie.” Seren mumbled, “But if we do this, you have to promise no more of this back and forth on things like this. I can’t keep doing that.”

“I promise.” He replied, maybe too quickly, “I promise no more flip flopping on what I say.”

He’d started planning from that moment, deciding what costume would work best and how he would handle telling them what he needed to tell them. That he was a mutant turtle, that while some people just thought they were weirdos in costume, the majority of people tended to panic or freak out when they realized what he and his brothers were. The turtle adjusted the mask on his face for probably the third time that night, wondering if this really was a good idea or if he’d let Leo’s little speech convince him to make a poor choice.

And speaking of Leo, the blue clad turtle who was currently wearing a Dread Pirate Roberts costume, was watching his brother from afar and without Donnie knowing he was here. He totally wasn’t here to make sure that his twin didn’t back out last minute, totally not. Right now it just seemed like the other turtle was nervously practicing what he was going to say if the odd little hand motions were anything to go off of. Donatello had opted for a masked costume as well, although his was probably more romantic of a choice than he realized as he had picked the Phantom of the Opera. There were plenty of other masked costumes his brother could have picked, but he decided on the one where in the play the dude pines after the leading lady and never gets the chance to be with her. That seemed a bit telling in his opinion. He could hear his twin’s ringtone even from here, watching the genius fumble his phone before finally looking at it. 

Donnie let out a sigh of relief as he realized it was Seren letting him know they had finally arrived at the park and were on their way to meet him. He knew they were going to be wearing a witch costume and that they had red hair, plus the fact that this little event at the park was less crowded than some of the block parties going on, meant he should be able to spot them pretty quickly. He hoped he could anyway. It only took a few minutes before he saw two new people enter the festivity area, one a tall and athletic looking man while the second had a shorter, swimmer’s physique. The shorter individual had vibrant red hair and bright blue eyes, the deep emerald witch’s dress covered in an assortment of soft orange and violet flowers. He could feel the realization hit him like one of Raph’s mystically charged punches to the gut, that was Seren, the same person he’d been fretting over meeting for months. They were right there, across the way, looking not at all like he’d imagined but better than anything his mind could have come up with.

It took a moment for him to regain his bearings, moving out from under the tree so he was more visible now. He realized the man with them must be their roommate and longtime friend, Ryder, whom he had heard a bit about. Smart for them to bring someone with them, but something told him Ryder wouldn’t have let them come on their own even if they wanted to.

Seren sighed as they walked next to their friend, who had chosen to dress like a modern cupid, something about it being funny and fitting with his job as a relationship therapist. The man was ridiculous, but they appreciated his concern with their safety even though they were certain there was no need for it as they had been talking over the phone with Donatello for a month now. Speaking of the man in question, they could see the tall figure, wearing a Phantom of the Opera mask albeit one that covered more of his face than the classic mask style. He was taller than they had expected, it looked like he was even taller than the man next to them and he was definitely a bit broader than they thought he would be. The botanist was pretty sure their heart was going to beat itself right out of their chest as they started to move towards him.

“Ren? Where are you going?” Ryder asked, “Did you see him?”

They only made a noise of acknowledgement, continuing to move towards the man they were sure was Donnie. He sighed but followed his friend, knowing that trying to stop them was likely to just get him yelled at. He did pick up pretty quickly about where they were headed, spotting the phantom costumed man standing in one of the crossroads of the park pathway. Ah, that explains the hurry to get over there then. They stopped several feet from him, smoothing down the skirt of their dress and clearing their throat softly. 

“Donatello?” Seren said, voice just slightly shaky with anticipation, not daring to move closer or say anything else until he responded. He looked over to them, warm brown eyes meeting bright cerulean finally and Donnie smiled nervously.

“Seren,” He replied, “And here I was thinking you were standing me up.”

“After how hard it was to get you here?” They laughed, lips turning up at the corners, “Like hell I wasn’t going to get here and finally get to see your face.”

Seren moved forward, throwing their arms around him in a hug and clearly surprising him, although he recovered quickly and returned the gesture. Ryder chuckled, deciding he could properly meet the guy later as this was an important night for his friend. 

“Well now that I’ve seen Ren get here safely,” He started, “I’ll do my best to stay out of your hair for the evening, just don’t make them cry. I’ll be forced to go through with my duties as their bestie friend if you do.”

The smaller human turned and smacked him on the arm, “Ryder! What did I say?”

“I’m joking! Just joking!” He put up his hands and chuckled, “You two go have a good time. I will stay here and enjoy the ridiculously colored food.”

As he made his way to one of the food stands, Seren turned back to the man they were for in the first place and smiled at him sheepishly. 

“Please ignore anything he says, he’s essentially the brother I never asked for.” they chuckled, “I love him but sometimes…”

Donnie grinned, “He drives you crazy? I know the feeling.”

**************************

Leo watched as the two met and talked, honestly a little surprised by his twin’s willingness to return the hug and he didn't even flinch when the redhead linked their arm with his. Not that Donatello was a germaphobe or anything but he’d always had difficulty with touch when it came to people outside the family and April. Once the two of them were on their way further into the little halloween festival, the blue clad turtle finally relaxed a little and instead turned his attention to the tall, blonde and handsome man who had shown up with Seren. He was wearing some gaudy red, pink and white archer outfit, one that was perhaps a little tighter than necessary in places but hey, he liked to look so no complaints from him.

Plus he could take advantage of this to find out more about the person his brother had been talking about and worrying over. He had no ulterior motives of course, he just wanted to know what his brother was getting into. Leo made his way towards where the blonde was standing, smoothing out the black shirt he was wearing and adjusting his mask. 

“Well I came here to make sure my brother didn’t wimp out,” He said, leaning up against the food stall Ryder was currently inspecting, “and someone dropped a present in my lap instead.”

The blonde chuckled, “He certainly looked like he might run for a second, is he always that nervous?”

“Only when something is really important to him.” Leo replied, “No guarantee he won’t panic later of course, but he seemed okay when they left.”

Ryder nodded, giving him a once over, his eyebrows furrowing for a moment before he grinned at the turtle.

“Maybe this seems sudden, but you look like good company for the evening.” He mused, “You want to check out some of the spooky attractions? I’m good for a jump scare or two.”

Leonardo grinned, “Why not, I’ve got a couple hours to spare and I do love the chance to play knight in shining armor to someone so handsome.”

The blonde shook his head, lips still curled up at the corners into a dimpled smile, “Well let’s get to it before they get back shall we?”

The two headed off in the opposite direction of Donnie and Seren feeling confident they wouldn't be needed further by them. In Ryder’s case it was nice to have someone interested, people tended to ghost pretty quick when they found out his whole job was to help people with relationships. Leo didn’t get the chance to flirt as often as he liked, so this was a jackpot for him as well. 

*************************

“You’re kidding me, Leo’s the one who convinced you to do this?” the redhead asked, sounding skeptical, “I know you said he was good at pep talks but damn, I’ll have to thank him when I get the chance.”

Donnie snorted, “I admit, he has good advice sometimes. He’s better at taking action, I get too stuck in my own head. Don’t tell him I said so though, his ego is big enough as it is.”

Seren nodded, looking around as they walked down one of the designated paths, there were so many things to do and they had just finished one of the haunted walks. It had gotten them a few times, but nothing really seemed to spook the tall tech nerd. 

“I will try not to mention it to him,” they replied, pointing to a small haunted house set up further down the way, “That looks interesting, I think I can handle one more haunted attraction before I settle for looking at the booths.”

“Why do you like being scared?” He asked, raising an eyebrow as he looked down, “It cannot actually be fun to do these things.”

Seren grinned, “I wouldn’t say it’s fun necessarily but I’ve always loved horror themed anything. Movies, games, books, you name it and I was probably into it. I just think there’s something fascinating about it I guess. Plus getting to see the monster makeup is my favorite part.”

Really it was interesting to see the interpretations of monsters by humans, as a witch (and not just the spiritual kind), Seren had seen a handful of real monsters. Although some did not like that label, they were real enough. The botanist had seen several here in the city, a few of them had actually been Ryder’s clients. Hey even yokai and supernatural beings needed relationship advice from time to time.

“That’s an odd fascination to have, but I guess I can see what you mean.” He finally said, “I did notice the monsters don’t seem to be the part that scares you, just the surprise from their sudden appearance or movement.”

Of course he’d have noticed that the man was a scientist after all. 

“Hard to be scared of something that I grew up with,” They started, “I mean faeries and folklore are a pretty huge part of growing up in a Welsh family, especially one like mine where we were all practicing witches.”

Right, he always forgot about that, mostly because he didn’t know that much about it and considering most humans who practiced witchcraft, practiced it as a religion and were not actually capable of real magic. He felt it would be rude to ask too many questions about that, especially since he had ended up debating the whole science versus magic thing before and he did not want to offend them.

“That makes sense, if it was normalized for you growing up then you would have an understanding of the concepts which makes it less scary.” He started to mutter, “Explains why so many american kids get freaked out by monster movies…”

Seren laughed, tugging on his arm as the two of them almost passed the haunted house entirely, “Earth to Donatello, the attraction is right here.”

“Ah, right…” He mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly, “In we go then.”

The two made their way through the haunted house, several of the jump scares causing Seren to cling a little harder to Donnie’s arm, but he definitely wasn’t going to complain about it. It took longer to get through the house than the small path they had done earlier and Seren needed a moment to breath and relax afterwards. The terrapin led them over to a small bench along the path, purchasing two water bottles from one of the nearby food stalls. He made his way back over to the bench, sitting down and offering them the water, which they took happily.

“Okay, I’m definitely good on spooks and scares for the evening.” They sighed, leaning back, “I have worked up my appetite though and I know one of my favorite cafes has a booth here. They set one up every year and their stuff is to die for.”

He grinned, taking a drink from his own bottle, “I look forward to getting to try something from them then. I trust your taste in food more than mine anyways.”

The witch grinned, happy to sit in silence for a moment as they caught their breath and drank their water, taking the opportunity to get a better look at the man next to them. The mask covered a good portion of his face only leaving his mouth and jawline visible, his jawline was quite sharp they could tell. It was only now that they realized what they could see of his face was green, not that they knew what his ‘condition’ caused, but they assumed the green was probably face paint to cover anything up he might be self conscious about. The urge to reach up and take the mask off was increasing as the night went on, between the excitement of getting to see him and hang out in person, they were desperate to get to see his face. 

“Do I have something on my mask?” He asked, breaking their line of thoughts, “Or did the haunted house break your brain for the evening?”

Heat spread through their cheeks, red flush only slightly visible under their makeup, “No I just… I was lost in thought was all.”

They could tell he was arching an eyebrow at them, but they opted to ignore it and instead stood up, grabbing his arm to pull him along again.

“Let’s go get food, I’m starving!” Seren declared, “Besides if we wait too long they’ll be out of the good stuff.”

He couldn’t help but laugh as they pulled him along the path, but he didn’t say anything. He was just going to enjoy this for now, before he got to the… serious part of the evening.

***********************

Donnie and Seren finally made their way back to the plaza area where they’d met up, although at this point in the night it was relatively empty outside the booths and the few wandering souls still here. He hadn’t told them he was going to show them his face yet, but he had said he wanted to talk to them privately before they parted for the evening. Seren had just nodded and let him lead them back to where they’d started this little get together. They found a place to sit that was out of the way and far enough away from prying eyes that he felt comfortable, as much as he could right now anyway.

“So what was it you wanted to talk about Donnie?” the redhead asked, “You’ve piqued my curiosity and I’m not sure what else there could be to talk about tonight.”

He took a deep breath before speaking up, “I want to take my mask off. I want you to be able to see my face and not just this stupid piece of plastic.”

Oh. Oh. No wonder he’d seemed a bit nervous as they had walked back. They smiled up at him, taking one of his hands in theirs. They’d already noticed he only had three fingers on either hand, something they once again attributed to his ‘condition’. They of course had their own theories but they didn’t want to press for too much personal information and possibly scare him off or make him uncomfortable.

“You know you don’t have to do that right?” They asked quietly, giving his hand a squeeze, “Tonight was already wonderful.”

“I know, but I know if I don’t do it now I’m going to have to do it at some point.” He stated evenly, although he felt like he might throw up, “Besides, it’s better to do it while I have the courage to.”

He brought both hands up to pull the mask off his face, although the shaking made it a little more difficult to do. Seren just watched, realization crashing over them as he pulled the white plastic from his head, their theory wasn’t too far off it seemed.

“So this is what I look like under the mask.” He mumbled, barely audible over the sounds of the park. 

“Donnie… I…” they started, but couldn’t quite find the words to say, because honestly they hadn’t expected to see what appeared to be a supernatural being in front of them. He looked down at them and they could see that he was not taking their reaction well. In Donnie’s mind their hesitance and inability to say anything sent the danger signal through his brain. Before Seren could react and before Donnie realized it, he had his mask back on and was moving back away from them. 

“I… I don’t know why I thought that would go differently.” He frowned, turning away from them, “I’m sorry.”

Then he was gone, too quick for the botanist to stop him, leaving them underneath the tree feeling confused and upset.

************************

It was near midnight when Leo and Ryder made their way back to the central area of the festivities, the blonde still waiting for a text from his friend to let him know that their ‘totally not a date’ was over. The two men had gotten the chance to talk as they walked around the park, both getting a full understanding of the situation and realizing that Donatello had been worrying for no good reason. The turtle had been very surprised when Ryder had called him out on the floor for being a supernatural being, but impressed that the man could see through him and his act. Ryder and Seren both apparently dealt with the mystical and bizarre on a relatively regular basis, the blonde more than the redhead but it wasn’t anything new for either of them. That gave Leo hope for his brother’s reveal going over well. Or it would have if the two of them hadn’t come back to Seren sitting on a bench and definitely looking like they’d just been crying.

“Ren? What happened?” Ryder asked, moving to sit next to his friend, “Where’s Donnie? Please don’t tell me he ditched you.”

They shook their head, looking up to the blonde and then over to Leo, “I’m a lembo. He wan’ed ta show me his face and…”

The two men exchanged looks of surprise, the turtle moving in closer now. 

“Well I think we all know that you weren’t going to freak out.” He said softly, “Which means Donnie didn’t interpret your reaction well did he? He’s been so nervous about tonight he probably assumed the worst.”

Seren nodded, “Rwy'n teimlo fel asyn o'r fath. I wish I’d reac’ed fas’er, maybe he wouldn’ have run off…”

The three sat in silence for a moment, Ryder trying to find the words to say and the little welsh redhead trying not to cry again. Leo sighed, crossing his arms over his chest and decided that if his brother was going to keep punishing himself like this he’d just have to make him see that all of his insecurities were in his head.

“Look, Donald has always been really hard on himself and despite his apparent confidence the guy has a long history of self sabotage due to insecurities.” He explained, “But he just needs someone to show him he’s being ridiculous. I’m not saying it’ll work right away or that he’s even going to let you see him again, but I know you don’t want to leave things like this right?”

Seren nodded, “Of course no’, I wan’ ta tell him he jus’ caugh’ me off guard because I wasn’ expectin him to be so…”

They trail off, a flush of red spreading all the way out to the tips of their ears and down their neck. Ryder smirked knowingly, looking up to the turtle, “I think they mean to say that your brother’s good looks and charming personality had them too flustered to react accordingly.”

Leo cleared his throat, doing his absolute best not to laugh, because of course his brother would have landed himself someone without realizing it and then read the signals all wrong. Unbelievable.

“Well the good news for you Shortcake, is that I think me and my brothers can help there.” He said, “So how about we all trade numbers and addresses, then we can start to work on what comes next.”

They nodded, rubbing their eyes before standing up, a new found determination burning behind those cerulean blue eyes. The three traded information, Leo heading his own way while Ryder and Seren headed back to their apartment. It was going to be difficult to get this work without Donnie realizing what they were up to but it was worth it, especially seeing how much the little redhead cared for his brother. How hard could it be to get them into the lair and get him to let them into the lab or his room?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lembo - idiot  
> Rwy'n teimlo fel asyn o'r fath - I feel like sucha an ass


End file.
